Stranded on an island with Wilson

Whoa! The shit has hit the fan - to put it mildly! I know that everyone in the world is experiencing chaos and uncertainty right now. Our little island is also reeling from the Coronavirus, and in addition to that we have experienced a series of events since January, including the 7.7 earthquake and a massive fire at our dump that caused road and school closures about a week before the virus began impacting us. It's been one thing after the other here, and at the risk of speaking on behalf of everyone on island, we all wish we could restart 2020. If 2020 was a Nintendo game, I would pull out the cartridge, vigorously blow on it, and start this sucker over.

So here's the situation in Cayman: We currently have 3 confirmed cases on Grand Cayman - no confirmed cases thus far on Cayman Brac or Little Cayman. Our first positive case occurred a week ago. Apparently a man was having heart issues on a cruise ship and was transported to one of our three hospitals where he received cardiac treatment. He then began exhibiting respiratory issues, tested positive for Covid-19, and unfortunately passed away. The hospital in which he was treated immediately shut its doors to new admissions. The other confirmed cases were health care workers who directly treated the patient. As soon as we had 1 confirmed case, our government acted quickly. They shut down the schools that day, cancelled all cruise ships that were scheduled in port, and made a plan to close our airport, restaurants, and bars. The last flight will arrive on island this Sunday, and the passengers on this flight will mostly consist of students who are residents of Cayman but receiving education abroad. Arrangements have been made  for the new arrivals to self-isolate in the hotels, which will be empty of tourists by Sunday. It is so imperative that these people self-isolate for 14 days in order to flatten the curve, as they say. I hope hope hope that they take it very seriously.

That's what's going on here. Our tourism industry is in a free-fall, and many service workers have left the island before the airport closure. It's scary as shit and like everyone else in the world, there are many people worried about how they are going to feed their families and keep a roof over their head during this time. I have been very impressed with our government's response. It is apparent that the health of the island is the priority and although temporarily (hopefully) devastating to our tourism industry, cancelling flights and shutting this island down is, in my opinion, the only way to slow this thing down. I also feel secure in knowing that many of my students who depend on school lunches and food vouchers will be supported by the government during the school closure.

How am I feeling about all of this? I am probably feeling the same as you. For once, we (everyone in the world) is kind of in the same boat, hey?  I feel anxious, scared, confused, uncertain, lonely. I worry about my family and friends back home. There is something eery and unsettling about being stranded on an island, with really no way out. When I was a kid I watched Gilligan's Island reruns, and longed to be stranded on island with coconut phones and palm frond hammocks. Nowhere in my fantasy was social distancing and a horrible respiratory virus! (Although surely Professor would have combatted this quickly😉). On the flip side, if we can contain the virus, then being stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere might certainly be the best place to be during all of this. I dunno. It's strange to see our beaches, typically packed with tourists, desolate and quiet. On the other hand, it's peaceful and serene.

Wilson washed up on shore! Even though he's "set" in his ways, and always "spikes" the drinks that he "serves" me, I really "dig" him. 

I am lucky enough to be able to work from home, so I have begun creating video lessons for my students. When I was a kid, I used to pretend that I was the host of a children's show called "Crafts R Us" (Read: ONLY CHILD 😂). I used to demonstrate how to make crafts out of objects found in the home. So here I am, age 40, essentially hosting my own TV shows! It's basically a dream come true! Disclosure: My first 7-minute video took me 4 hours!!! There were tears, people. Good God. But oh man, I sure don't know how people with children are able to get anything accomplished at home. Mad respect to you! And deep respect to our health care workers. I worked in the hospital setting during H1N1 and I can't even imagine how difficult and stressful this is for our front line workers.

No live audience today due to social distancing.

Notice how everyone has a opinion right now? Sooo many opinions! I am not an expert at navigating a pandemic, I do not have a medical degree, and I sure as hell don't have any words of wisdom regarding managing your finances during tough times! (Um...ya budgets are not my thing 🙅).

But...here's what I'm doing to stay sane:

1) I am only "tuning in" to pandemic news, posts, etc twice a day - I check once in the morning, and once around 5pm. After 5pm, I refuse to watch news programs, read Facebook posts, or listen to someone's opinion about coronavirus. All this news is overwhelming, increases my anxiety, and affects my sleep. We all know that quality sleep is an important factor in increasing immunity.

2) I am attempting to stick to a schedule.  I have scheduled work time into my day, as well as frequent breaks where I try to move as much as possible. I lay my yoga mat on the floor first thing, and when I feel overwhelmed by work, news, etc, I go to 6 minute abs, a push-up ladder, or hold a yoga pose. I also schedule in a 30-minute comedy sitcom here and there (thank goodness for "Friends" reruns).

Home gym. Dundee is my water boy.

3) I am getting fresh air. Given that we are lucky enough to be stranded on a tropical island, we may as well take advantage of this incredible climate. I take Dundee for regular walks, go to a quick pool workout, and take walks on the beach. Now that our beaches are pretty much deserted, it feels very safe to walk along the beach, knowing I will not be in contact with anyone.

4) I am trying to laugh. Yes, I agree that we need to take this seriously. But do I enjoy a good meme every once in a while? Of course! I am acting responsibly, but I am still allowing myself to feel joy, chuckling at the stupid jokes on Facebook or indulging in a good "autocorrect fails" post. It also feels good to connect with family and friends on Whatsapp and use humour to defuse tense situations.

5) I am focusing on the population who is really benefitting during all of this. Who, you ask, could possibly be "winning" during such uncertain and frightening times? The pets, of course. My little white dog, Dundee, and my old senile cat have never received so much attention! They are thriving! Biloxi has even started hiding away in the bath tub to avoid the daily songs that I compose and sing to my furry friends.  There is a conspiracy theory going around that the pets orchestrated all of this, and as Dundee happily takes his 5th walk in a 2-hour period, I can't help but think this might be the one true conspiracy theory out there.

living his best life. 

He's not so keen on Wilson

In all seriousness, take care everyone. Do the right thing. Don't put others at risk. Keep yourself healthy, and remember that your mental health affects your physical health and vice versa.

Cheers to Flo Rida for writing and singing, "My House," the current soundtrack of our lives.

"Sometimes you gotta stay in...in"