Well, the month of March was a strange one! Springing forward into daylight savings, having a full moon on a Friday the 13th, and having a worldwide pandemic strike all around the same time, has sure knocked us all for a loop.
The weather has even seemed confused by all of these goings on, with a January-like winter storm and cold temps over March 13th and 14th, to having a couple of inches of snow after several sunny, 50 degree weather days. This may be easily dismissed as common Inland Northwest spring weather, but it feels more sinister and bizarre.
Businesses
The order to stay home has had huge impacts on every one of our local businesses. The Gazette may feel a little lighter to you this month; that’s because many of our friends had to close down their businesses, or drastically reduce and change how they do business. When your company can’t run like normal, you can’t advertise like normal. Consequently, we’ve had to cut down our page count to compensate for lack of ads this month.
Help your local economy. Buy gift cards to businesses that can’t serve you right now, patronize the cafes and restaurants that are offering delivery and take out. Like, share, leave reviews. If the business has something that you would like to purchase, consider contacting them to make that purchase online or over the phone, and set up pick up or shipping.
Events
Many events have been impacted by this shutdown as well. We had planned to highlight several fun things for our community to take advantage of in April. Some were fundraisers for a multitude of different causes, but they have all suffered in the uncertainty. Some are postponed, some canceled, some just waiting to find out what the world will look like next month.
Please remember your local food banks, animal shelters, and rodeo/fairgrounds. They count on volunteers and local support, but with the whole state confined to quarters, there is a lot of work going undone.
Community
With the revelation that it may not just be the elderly or immunocompromised that are most likely to suffer from COVID-19, more and more people will be following the order to “stay home, stay healthy.” Find ways to stay connected.
Final Thoughts
All in all, we seem to have hit the pause button on 2020, for the time being. We all stand, very much in a holding pattern. We have no choice but to take it as it comes. For some this will be a maddening practice of sit and wait; for others this may be a more natural process.
I know it’s easy to focus on the things that are immediately around us and in this exact moment, but as you can see by this map, we are not alone in our struggles, fears, and just being stuck waiting.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/world-map.html
At any rate, be aware of your fellow man, and continuously considerate. Be kind. Stay healthy.
