Today I saw how we’re going to get the virus, and it’s all innocent fun.

We like our neighbors. We get along just fine. Our kids play there, and their grandkids have played here. We’ve had cookouts with them and their kids. She’s a retired nurse, and her ex-husband who visits nearly daily, is a retired home inspector. They’ve been coming and going almost like normal, but have claimed to be practicing social distancing while out.

They watch their newest granddaughters a few days a week, though. Their mom’s a nurse, and dad’s a realtor. She’s definately in a critical role, and while surely taking precautions, obviously at risk. Dad apparently considers his role also critical, and shows homes to whomever asks, with whatever precautions they are or aren’t taking.

We met the neighbors while letting the kids run amok in the front yard. They asked if we thought it’d be OK to let the kids play together, because they like it. We grimaced and noted our position and desire to at least reinforce the ideas of social distancing. The kids were fine sharing stories over the fence, ours on our deck, theirs on their patio, a good dozen feet apart. Then the grandparents had an idea to have the kids play catch.

We then imagined mom getting a bit of virus from work, passing it to her kids, bringing it to grandma’s house, then literally passing it to us on a ball.

We had some more chats with the kiddos. The older has decided she hates coronavirus. It keeps her from her school and friends. It made her miss a birthday party. It keeps us in our house and away from the park. It won’t let us eat at restaurants or shop at Target. We had a little crying fit, and then we felt better by deciding to order take-away from The Cheesecake Factory, including a chocolate shake.

We packed into the car and had a nice drive through the town. She noticed how little traffic there was, and how many parking lots were missing cars as we drove along. The mall to which the restaurant is attached had cars, maybe a dozen. We’d been there a few weeks ago and it was packed; she noticed that. She reiterated how much she hates coronavirus.

Dinner was happier and full of giggles. We took the good dog for a brief walk, and then off to bed. As we left the house, we noticed a bag with a couple of meals inside on our doorstep. We assume someone ordered something and it was delivered incorrectly.

The rest of the day was pretty normal. I think we’re settling into a little bit of a routine.

Everyone is healthy. A little relieved to have been out of the house for essentially the first time in a week, in some cases.