Living in the country during a public health emergency can be a good thing.
Just ask our friends in Chicago.
My husband got an email from his good friend, saying they are already stockpiling food at their condo. Enough to feed them for several weeks. They’re making plans to avoid public transit or any place where large crowds gather. Serious stuff.
I get it. The coronavirus is scary. And it’s a lot more scary when you live in a city with millions of people. Just the thought of cramming myself on a subway train with all those people coughing, sneezing and whatever else gives me the creeps.
It’s like one giant petri dish.
There are times when living in the country can feel isolating. One snowstorm can leave you stranded with no food, lights or water. Especially, when you can’t just walk to the local market.
Traveling can be challenging. I remember meeting people at the Denver airport who had driven six hours from rural Wyoming to catch a plane. People who like having amenities close by generally don’t like living in a cabin the middle of the woods.
But when a global pandemic strikes? It can be a downright good thing.
For one, I already telework from home two days a week. Not a big deal to work from home five days a week. Something that was suggested in the e-mail memo I got from our public health department.
If I take my dogs for a walk, I don’t need to worry about rubbing shoulders and exchanging germs with hundreds of strangers.
The only thing I have to worry about is running into a moose in the middle of the road.
A lot of my city friends are horrified by the thought of being trapped inside their homes for days on end. They have a name for that — cabin fever. And it’s an every day occurrence during winter in the Rocky Mountains.
In fact, I try as hard as I can to not go anywhere near a city if I don’t have to. I could easily spend days on end in our cabin, never driving the car out of the garage.
And be perfectly content, reading my books, drinking hot cocoa.
Us mountain folk are hearty people, we’re used to dealing with deep snow, biting winds, and long winters.
So in response to the mounting fears of the Coronavirus outbreak, I say, there’s nothing we can’t deal with.
And a cabin in the woods might be the very best place to be.
