What’s It Like to Quarantine in an RV?

You might be wondering how things have changed for us now that the whole country—or whole world, I guess—is sheltering in place.  Oddly enough, the more things change, the more they stay the same for us. If you look at how we spend our days, you’ll see no difference whatsoever. Ken still works online Monday through Thursday for 10 hours each day, and I still do my reading, assignments, cooking and whatever else I need to do. We haven’t had a problem social distancing; when we go out for our morning run-walks or evening strolls, we rarely see anyone; when we do, we or they go to the other side of the road, waving or saying hello as we pass one another. We’re naturally a bit reclusive, so this lifestyle is ideal for quarantining.

All the amenities at the campground are closed right now—the pool and hot tub, rec center, and mini-golf course—and events are cancelled, but to be honest, we probably wouldn’t participate in those anyway. Thankfully, the laundry facility has not closed, but when I used it yesterday, I felt gross. I scrubbed my hands after putting my clothes in and waited in my car while they were washing and drying. I had just seen a lady cleaning it, but since I have always been a bit of a germophobe, I wasn’t taking any chances. (Imagine my dismay when another lady parked next to me, got out of her truck with her laundry, and open-mouth coughed, then repeated the sequence with her second basketful! Eew!)

Last Friday we went to “town” and bought groceries, enough to last a couple of weeks. Again, I felt uncomfortable. Though Ken and I worked out a system where I wore gloves and touched the cart and he did not–he handled the list on his phone and the credit card—we did not observe anyone around us practicing social distancing or taking other precautions, and it was a bit alarming. A couple of people even had babies in the store, even though they were shopping with another adult!  Are we overly cautious because we aren’t usually around the general population, or are they overly confident because they live in a small town? (By the way, the first case of COVID-19 in this county was reported on this morning’s news).

Honestly, if we never watched t.v. or looked at the internet, we’d probably not even realize there was a pandemic…but we do. There have been many times when I have had to just unplug because I find myself getting too anxious. I am extremely unfocused and unmotivated to do my schoolwork. I think about my mom, who has chronic asthma. I think about my nephew in the NICU, who will be going home soon. I think about my sister-in-law who’s a nurse at a VA hospital and has two young daughters at home. I think about my niece, who has lung-damage from childhood pneumonia—her parents both have to go to work and try not to bring anything home.  And these are just on my side of the family; Ken has relatives with health problems and our sister-in-law and niece are both nurses…my heart feels heavy almost constantly. Social media sometimes comforts and encourages me, but I also see friends in harm’s way, and hear complaints about people not taking things seriously, carelessly spreading—or doing nothing to stop the spread of—this scary virus.

So, I pray. I pray God will protect the ones I love. I pray for those who are working to help others, for the scientists trying to develop a vaccination, for small businesses striving to stay afloat, for children not to be scared, for spouses and kids who are being abused, for people who don’t know how they are going to make ends meet, and for those whose needs go above and beyond toilet paper to food and shelter.  I don’t know what else to do.

 I am disappointed that most of our travel revolved around visiting family and friends, and now we cannot see them. I am uncertain where, exactly, we will stay (we had firm plans until the end of July, but who knows…) But these are minor complaints compared to what so many are facing, and I truly believe that perspective is everything. We’re blessed to have a mobile home, which allows so much flexibility, as there will always be campgrounds to stay at—they can’t close them all!  I’m fine with being ‘stuck’ with someone I adore and want to spend all my time with anyway. I am grateful that my daughter’s job is considered “essential,” so she isn’t without an income, and that my son’s going to get unemployment pay for his job at the gym, which will help.  We’re so thankful that all of our parents are healthy at a time when so many are not. And the list goes on and on…living in an RV is no different than living in a ‘sticks and bricks’ in this case—it is imperative to focus on the positive.