Going Galt Halted by Corona - Taunted by Separation Anxiety

Going Galt - The Steps We Use to Get Out of Dodge

GOING GALT SERIES - STEPS TO GETTING OUT OF DODGE

Part 9

I am SO jealous!

There's another family that started Getting Out of Dodge at the same time we did. The difference between our adventures is that their house in Washington sold very quickly and before the virus took hold. 

And for FULL price!

You should check out Good Simple Living's YouTube channel, if you haven't heard about it already. 

They are doing an excellent job progressing on their new Idaho homestead. 

Meanwhile, nobody is even looking at our home and the Coronavirus has now brought everything to a complete standstill for us.

What's Next?

I'm not sure, honestly. There's not a whole lot I can do at this point with my house unsold. Our Governor issued a Stay-at-Home order and extended it to the end of April.

What started out as an ambitious dream-come-true has turned into a surreal nightmare of sorts.

I am now completely separated from my family by nine hours and don't know when I'll be able to travel back there. Or when they can travel up here. 

My hospital, following the Governor's declaration, will put me in a 14-day quarantine if I go back to visit (again). 

Since I am a new employee, I haven't had the time yet to build up Paid Time Off. 

I've missed two birthdays and Easter this month. Video calling for family events just isn't the same but it is better than nothing.

Staying Focused

With the addition of a giant 4'x6' whiteboard, I have started to write down my thoughts and action plans. 

I have always been a daytimer-planner type of person. Usually mapping out a good five years in advance. 

But I have found that it is easy to slip into depression when I'm isolated. When I returned from going home over Spring Break, I was given a 14-day quarantine for going out of town. 

That new rule came into effect while I was gone. 

Sitting here in this rental for 14 days starts getting a little...weird. 

I started sleeping... a lot. 

At first, I just chalked it up to needing some sleep. But I realized it was more likely due to depression and excessive sleep will make it worse. 

That's why I started using the whiteboard. 

I have only met a few people in town and won't be interacting much since we can't have social gatherings, including church meetings. 

So with the help of my visual brain (whiteboard), I have gotten back on track with my fitness plan, gardening schedule, financial mapping, relocation efforts, and all the other tasks on my plate.

But I'd be lying if I didn't admit to having a few meltdowns thinking about my family.

Returning to Work

I was released from quarantine and returned to work last Monday. It was nice getting out of the house. I found myself reluctant to go "home" at 5pm because there was no reason to go.

I'll continue focusing on my new job and see what unfolds around me. I told my realtor to lower the asking price on my house by $25,000 to see if it spurs anything. 

My mom sent me a text yesterday that she was furloughed from her teaching job. She's 68 years old and trying to figure out how to pay bills. 

So in the middle of feeling paralyzed, I'm trying to figure out how I can help my mom. 

I see the national unemployment rate skyrocketing so I'm thankful for my job. 

And I'm thankful that my job put me into a decent rental property at no cost to me. I got lucky and they waived the rent for three months to give me time to find a place for my family.

So for now, I only have a house payment down south. But come May 31st, there will be an additional rent payment due where I am staying now. 

I don't see a way that finances will handle that extra burden at this point. 

On the Gardening Side

Since it takes my mind off the negatives, I enjoyed moving some of my starts into bigger containers.

Medicinal Calendulas

I'm still not ready to move them outside. Locals have told me to watch a certain mountain top nearby. 

When all the snow is gone off the top, that's when it is safe to plant in the ground. 

So my plants are still in the back mudroom for now. I moved my medicinal flowers out of the barrel trough and into butter containers.

When they get too big for that, it should be time to transfer them outside. 

I transferred the cabbage starts from the rootbeer cans to the trough for more room to spread. 

And because I ran out of room indoors, I experimented with putting three starts outside in the ground. I have no idea how hardy these little cabbages are but they sprouted so quickly, they might do okay. 

I also received the gift of some old hay to start a potato garden. So I spread out two small bags of potatoes on the ground and covered them up. 

Continuing to Recon

I'm still listening to my Baofeng to see what is going on locally. I also walk a 2-3 mile trek through the nearby neighborhoods to get some exercise. 

This allows me to watch for houses that are For Rent while learning the local street names. 

I enjoy a nice level walk but enjoy these steep mountain roads even better. I can see this being a permanent routine given how good of a cardio workout I get huffing and puffing up and down these roads.

Speaking of which, the sun is starting to set and I haven't been out of the house today. I'm going to throw some shoes on and get a quick walk in before dark.

Our local Air Evac helicopter was sitting on top of our hospital when I came back from a walk the other day. With the flags flying nearby, I couldn't resist taking a few photos.

Thanks for listening.