March 16, 2020 – The announcement came via text message that our schools will remain closed until April 10th. Around an hour after that, Harris Country announced the mandatory closing of all bars, and take out and delivery only for restaurants.
It is the 1 year anniversary of the announcement of the shutdown in Harris County, which is the county that the boys and I live in. Six days ago, the shutdown officially ended state wide, allowing all restrictions to be lifted and all businesses to be fully open. The shutdown that was set to last fifteen days lasted just six days short of an entire year.
I remember this day last year. I had gone for a drink and then dinner with Yvonne, one of my closest friends. The restaurants and bars were not at all crowded as fears of the virus drove many people away. There was a shortage of toilet paper, which to this day no one has been able to explain. By this day last year, the grocery store was running out of most things as people panic shopped. The only thing that I was worried about was cat and dog food. At no time in the last year has their been a shortage of cat or dog food.
I do not believe that people, especially the career politicians in Washington, fully understand the impact that the shutdown has had on small businesses and the health of our nation. People see “help wanted” signs, and receive their stimulus checks, and somehow they are led to believe that everything is okay. It infuriates me to know that the people in Washington think that they are saving our nation all the while they are destroying it.
Businesses lost hundreds of thousands of dollars last year that they will never recover. Too many small businesses had their cash reserves wiped out. Too many small businesses all together shuttered. Businesses are having a difficult time finding people that are willing to work. Why work when one can just wait for their next check from the government?
Worse than the economic impacts are the physical and mental health aspects of the shutdown. Nearly everyone, myself included, has put on a substantial amount of weight. What we do not see is the biggest threat. What we do not see is the detriment that the shutdown has had on our wellbeing. Suicide rates are skyrocketing. We have a mental health crisis in our nation.
It is far too easy to become frustrated and overwhelmed and slip into a feeling of despair. I have definitely done this. My little mental health break in New Braunfels has helped tremendously. I return home tomorrow morning. I miss my kitties, but I am going to miss my sister and nephew when I am back in Houston.
When I get back, I am going to accept that I cannot change the reality of what the shutdown has done on a macro level. I am going to focus on what I can do on a micro level. I am going to stop being a recluse, and begin reaching out to my friends and planning small social gathering as I did before the shutdown. I am also going to devote 90% of my spending to small businesses, no more Amazon!
I am going to embrace the positives things in my life, and I am going to live by the principals that I believe in. I cannot change the world, but I can make a small difference on the world around me.