virus – Live Laugh RV

Life is like a rollercoaster. It’s full of ups, downs, twists, and turns. Sometimes it’s fun and sometimes it’s not. There’s solace in knowing we’re all in this together … all in for a heck of a ride … a ride called life. Besides, how boring would it be if it was continuous smooth sailing? After all, couldn’t we all use a little excitement in our lives from time to time? But please, just not too much excitement, huh! Yeah, life has been a little too exciting lately and not in a good way. I’m sure you can agree!

I’ve always been entertained by a good rollercoaster ride at an amusement park despite my propensity for motion sickness. Rollercoasters usually don’t make me sick. However, don’t put me on a tilt-a-whirl. I guarantee motion sickness will rear its ugly head by that spinning dizzying motion, and let’s not even talk about the rolling of a sailboat. 🤢 Nope, no tilt-a-whirls or sailing for this gal. Did I ever tell you guys during my first day on the job as a Flight Attendant, I threw up eleven times? Ah, not a day I’d care to repeat, but those tales are for another day.

Today, let’s talk about viruses … okay, not just any virus … the Coronavirus aka COVID-19 and its nauseating, dizzying effect on everyday life.

Dealing with a Pandemic

Illness of any kind isn’t fun, but add in the emotion of fear, and you’re dealing with a whole different animal. So many ups, downs, twists, and turns! Fear makes people panic and act and do things out of character. I understand the importance of getting ahead of the spread of this virus (it’s serious stuff) and containing it as much as possible is very critical. I truly do understand the importance!

And even though we are dealing with extreme matters and doing our part by practicing good hygiene and social distancing, I fail to understand the sudden hoarding of products specifically toilet paper. I guess the fear of running out of TP is on everyone’s mind 💩

Finding humor in a non-humorous moment

Due to the rush and hoarding of toilet paper, most of us are seeing a shortage. Store shelves are void of this precious commodity and many (me included) are afraid of running out. There’s a couple of local grocery stores here in Phoenix, Arizona that are offering seniors (65 and older) their own special time to shop; from 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday mornings.

Taking full advantage of my husband’s old age 🤫, this past Wednesday I kicked him out of bed and loaded him into my little red truck before 5:00 a.m. I bribed him with the promise of a pastry! It was a dark, cold, drizzly morning. I was on a mission … a toilet paper mission. We stood in line outside the store in the drizzling rain with all the other seniors waiting for the doors to open.

Shopping crowds – so much for social distancing! At exactly 5:00 a.m. we were given entrance. Initially, it seemed very calm and civilized until a few folks broke from the crowd into a gentle sprint. Clearly, they weren’t interested in grabbing a shopping cart but were focused on one thing … toilet paper.

Not one to be outrun by an oxygen tank totting eighty-year-old, Al’s 6’3″+ frame with long legs quickly outstepped his competition and took the lead.

Being one of the first to snag the largest package of toilet paper from the top shelf, Al quickly handed it off to me and then proceeded to help his sprinting competitor. Al’s height and large stature, in comparison to the other senior shoppers, drew attention.

Shortly after helping the oxygen totting gentleman, a frail woman taped Al with her cane and said, “Hey Sonny, can you grab me a package?” Next thing you know, Al was helping hand out packages of toilet paper and in just a few minutes the once well-stocked shelves were once again bare.

Several of us lingered near the aisle and looked at the barren shelves while holding our allotted one package of TP like a trophy and just shook our heads amusingly. “This is crazy”, several folks commented while another said, “I never imagined I would ever see anything like this in my lifetime”.

After our toilet paper mission was accomplished, Al and I picked up a few more staples and with our shopping cart less than half full, we paid for our purchases and headed to the truck. It was still dark, rainy, and cold, but in the truck, we each had a thermal container filled with hot coffee waiting accompanied by a newly purchased fresh pastry as a reward for a job well done.

After a few gulps of steaming coffee, we looked at each other and laughed. Al said, “I never thought I’d go grocery shopping at 5:00 in the morning, let alone have a good time doing so”. Al was thanked numerous times by folks who clearly could not have reached the top shelf or been able to bend over easily to pull from the bottom shelf. What an interesting morning, indeed!

RV Life

I’ll admit, I was relieved to snag that large package of toilet paper. I wasn’t feeling so confident two days earlier. You see, after living in the RV (less than 300 square feet) for the past seven years, I’ve developed a routine of sorts. Most RV refrigerator-freezers need to be defrosted routinely. I usually defrost mine about every three months and knowing this, I allow our frozen food supply to dwindle regularly. And with only a 6 cubic foot refrigerator, I’ve increased my Tetris skills drastically. Tetris skills are a prerequisite for RV living.

Likewise, when it comes to keeping our little home on wheels (aka RV) organized and clean. I like to use up our provisions before restocking and I take full advantage of poorly stocked RV shelves and a near-empty fridge to clean, reorganize, and strategically plan out the restocking.

I promise you won’t find any packaged or canned food items in our RV that are close to the expiration date. I couldn’t promise that when we lived in our large custom sticks and bricks home with a huge walk-in pantry. My daughter loved pointing out the expired dates on some of the food items that I’d accumulated.

Yeah, when you have more room than you need, things get overlooked, but not so in our RV 5th wheel where storage space is a precious commodity.

With all that said, I was in the low on supplies process for some thorough spring cleaning when the coronavirus hit. I knew COVID-19 was serious, but I never anticipated the fear factor leading to barren shelves at the stores.

Fortunately, we still had three rolls of toilet paper and enough food for at least a couple of weeks. So, I didn’t panic … until I went to Walmart to pick up just a few things. I was smacked in the face with a new reality. I found myself asking, “What if we run out of toilet paper?”

I love my neighbors! It was a beautiful morning in the neighborhood and while my neighbor and I were chit-chatting about this new way of life, she informed me that she was so glad she stocked up on TP from Costco before this whole hoopla began. My ears perked up! Did she say she had lots of toilet paper? Before she could get out another sentence, I asked if I could buy a few rolls of TP from her. My urgency was knowing the fact that they decided to head back to their home in Michigan early and would be leaving soon. So, I didn’t feel I had time to waste.

“Of course”, she responded, “Isn’t that what neighbors do … help each other out?” She refused to take any money for the three rolls of toilet paper which didn’t sit well with me. So I gave her a bottle of hand soap from Bath & Body Works (I love their pump hand soaps). Yep, life has resorted to bartering for toilet paper. Talk about some interesting twists, turns, and ups and downs!

Stocked up

Well, after a few excursions to various stores, my cupboards are full, the fridge and freezer are full, and we pretty much have everything we need for the next month with the exception of fresh fruits and veggies which seem to be in adequate supply at the grocery stores … for now, anyway.

Adding a little levity

So what does one do in the event of no toilet paper? Use Bounce dryer sheets for a wrinkle-free, fresh-smelling bum that’ll put a bounce in your step! Okay, I’m only kidding. It won’t take the wrinkles out of your bum 🤣

Let’s try and stay positive knowing this too shall pass. Sending good vibes and well wishes your way!
How are you dealing with current life?

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support ❤)

Bounce Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheets, Outdoor Fresh
Cottonelle FreshCare Wipes
Bath and Body Works Summer Collection – Foaming Hand Soaps

It was February 18^th and time for us to leave Benson and head to Phoenix, Arizona. Al had an appointment on the 19^th in Phoenix and thus we couldn’t change our plans as much as I may have wanted to. I couldn’t believe how ill I felt. I was sick. I could barely stand without the thought of my legs collapsing.

I’d been feeling slightly under the weather for several days prior but when I woke up that morning I could hardly function. I had two bites of toast and some water. No coffee for me that morning. That alone had hubby very, very concerned. For my regular followers, you all know how much I love my morning coffee and a beautiful sunrise. So forgoing coffee was a sure sign I was ill.

If I recall, it was another beautiful Arizona morning but that wasn’t enough to pull me out of bed. I laid in bed until Al hooked up the 5th wheel. I even remained in bed while he pulled in the slides – which is usually my job. So Al did his job and mine. Once he was ready to hit the road, I crawled into the truck and laid my head down on the center console.

I don’t ever sleep or nap while we drive. I enjoy being Al’s ~~backseat driver~~ co-pilot and navigator. So this was extremely rare and unusual for me to nap. I couldn’t seem to keep my head in an upright position. I couldn’t eat anything but kept drinking water which required a couple of stops during our 3 hour drive from Benson to Phoenix. When Al pulled into a rest stop, I didn’t even have the strength to walk the short distance from the truck to the restroom. Instead I climbed into the rig. That RV door was a lot closer than the building door. I was so incredibly weak.

That was the longest three-hour drive of my life and it couldn’t end soon enough. That drive was by far much worse than the 9-hour drive we took from San Antonio to Las Cruces and seemed hours longer…..go figure.

We pulled into Pleasant Harbor without a reservation and smooth talking Al managed to score a monthly rate even though we’d need to move around to different sites. They didn’t have any sites available for a complete month. Normally you can only get that monthly rate for a given site…..standard practice in the industry. So we were very appreciative of the kind staff, especially given the state of my health.

The moment Al had the rig backed into our site, I climbed into bed where I remained for the majority of the week. That flu bug knocked me down bad. I’m fortunate I didn’t end up in the hospital, not that the thought didn’t cross my mind or Al’s. I don’t ever recall being so sick.

It’s been a month since I was bedridden for a week and I’m still struggling with a lack of energy and a nagging cough. It’s been frustrating not being able to take advantage of the hiking trails here at Lake Pleasant, but I still consider myself lucky especially hearing of others enduring long hospital stays or even those loosing their battle with this nasty flu virus.

Even though I’ve felt less than stellar this past month, Al and I still managed to get in some socializing with fellow RVer’s and bloggers. Plus with our son living in the area, we get to enjoy regular visits with him.

We definitely picked the perfect spot for my recuperation; a great campground, beautiful view, entertaining company, and perfect weather. Bonus; the desert is blooming….. yep, perfect place to hang and recover. Each day I’m feeling better and stronger and I appreciate all your well wishes since I posted about my illness. I hope to be back on the trails soon 🙂