Wearing a Mask

I left San Miguel four weeks ago and I never thought I would be wearing a mask four weeks later but a lot of things have happened in those four weeks that are beyond anything I could have imagined. Looking back, how naive I was.

I understood that the coronavirus was going to affect many people and that medical systems would be  stressed but I thought that the United States could handle the virus better than Mexico. So I could go to Houston, get an apartment for six months. The complex where Ned and I had lived for two years was next door to an HEB, Krogers and Walgreens were across the street. When I arrived I was renting a car for a week to gather up what I needed for an apartment and then I wouldn't need a car. I could walk and if I wanted to go somewhere too far to walk, I'd get an Uber. Within about one day after arriving in Houston it dawned on me that "staying in place," or isolation, or quarantine, or whatever you want to call it was happening NOW. There was no time to settle-in. There was no time to see most of my family. So, I look forward to talking with them and long to hug them.

Services like Instacart, Curbside pickup, Whole Foods, Krogers, and HEB delivery all sound great but the demand is so huge that the delivery times are out about 10 days and they are so overloaded that the 20 items you ordered may be down to 10 items available when they are delivered. Although if I walk to the grocery store I can find the things I ordered except for cleaning supplies, toilet paper and paper towels.  Toilet paper can sometimes be found but I have not seen paper towels since the day after I arrived. Thank God, there is no shortage of food.

Naive? Yes! A few months in Houston. The emergency would be over. I'd go home but everyday brings more knowledge about this disease. To get it fully under control, we need a vaccine and that is probably 18 months down the road.

Although this is a rather stylish one that a friend brought to me, I hope that wearing a mask doesn't become the new normal.

Refugio en el Norte - Day 5

I am not sure of how to start this post. It has been a long time since I wrote anything for this blog but I feel the need to write and I have the time so I’ll see how it goes. I am writing from an apartment in Houston which right now is my refuge from a dangerous world because of Covid-19. Hence, the term, Refugio en el Norte, which is a play on the name of the street I live on in San Miguel de Allende.

A planned trip to Texas to visit family, go to FotoFest, and SXSW became more than a 10 day trip because of my concern about being in Mexico alone should I become ill with Covid-19. When I had to put my sweet Carly who had been going downhill for about nine months, to sleep two days before I was scheduled to leave, I made the decision that when I arrived in Houston I would stay in Houston until I could figure out what I needed to do.

Ned and I liked the apartment we rented in Houston 10 years ago while he was sick so the first thing I did after getting the rental car was head to that complex. It is next door to an HEB/Pharmacy and across the street from a Kroger and Walgreen drug store. Also, close to a number of restaurants that I could walk to. Of course, now that the restaurants have been closed except for takeout, that doesn’t count for much. I rented one that was immediately available and took possession of the keys last Tuesday. Wednesday the furniture I rented was delivered and I moved in. I’ll be writing from my Refuge in the North. What I’ll write about I’m not sure but I do feel I need to write. It may be too personal for some or boring as hell for others but that is okay if you decide not to read it at all.

PS: I wanted to send a photograph of the sala of my apartment but for some reason something has changed since the last time I wrote on the blog. I can’t figure it out tonight but I’ll work on it tomorrow. Busy day tomorrow. LOL

Small World Houston

I'm in Houston, a city of over six million people. What are the chances I would end up in a medical waiting room with three other women and one of them would also have a house in Guanajuato, Mexico. Small chance! But add the improbability that we would both count Phyllis who also has a home in San Miguel as a best friend.  I'm sure that a statistician could figure the probability but whatever the number is I'd still be amazed.

The two of us were so shocked, we asked one of the other people in the waiting room to take a picture of us.

Ha! I thought these kind of things only happened in San Miguel de Allende.

What Would You Do?

Port Aransas - December 2012

This week over dinner with two couples, the conversation drifted to family members and friends who required care because of a variety of health and age conditions. Some were in the USA in assisted living or nursing homes and others were here in San Miguel. The cost of care for those in the USA was mind boggling but in general, even with the staggering costs, no one seemed to feel that the level of care was at the level it should be. On the other hand we talked about several people we knew in San Miguel who required someone with them around the clock as well as close supervision by medical personnel and we all agreed that they were receiving excellent care at a fraction of the cost found in the USA.

Everyone seemed to feel that they would rather be in Mexico if they were in such a health situation but there was also kind of an assumption that the spouse would be here with them to coordinate the care. Then one of them asked me, "Billie, what would you do? Would you stay here in Mexico?" Meaning would I stay in Mexico if I had a long term illness. I can't say that I haven't thought about that in the past and certainly I've thought about it in the last 10 months since Ned died. But it has been more of a passing thought not anything that would generate a plan.

Those of you who live here in Mexico, have you thought about this issue? As you get older and perhaps incapacitated with illness are you going to stay here in Mexico or go back to the USA or Canada or somewhere closer to family? What are some of the issues that figure into what you are thinking that you would do?