How much social distancing do you do?

[maslex]

I know there are many levels of distancing and people have their own take on it. Just curious how far you've taken it or how lax you are?

My household consists of me, my husband, my son & his girlfriend. We also have an inlaw apt with two adults over there. The inlaws do not work and have barely left the house (which is a good thing. My MIL has been giving me money to pick up things at the store for her)

I'm a school bus driver so obviously, I'm out of work. But the other 3 people in my house are essential workers so needless to say, they're near people throughout the day.

My other son lives 5 mins down the road with his girlfriend & step son (5). My son is also an essential employee. His girlfriend was temp laid off.

For us, the only time I go out is to go to the grocery store early Saturday mornings and then I'll take a drive to the nearby cemetery or campground to go for a walk and get some fresh air. My husband and I will sometimes take a drive for about an hour or so just to get out. And sometimes my other son/family will come over for a few hours/dinner. But I'm wondering if I should stop their visitations until hopefully this blows over.

So curious, what's your level of distancing? Do you still get together (even briefly) with your family or have you stopped that all together? I saw a thing of FB that said something like "I'd rather not see my family/friends for a couple months than never see them again" And that just hit a wake up nerve.

 

[firefly_ris]

We are both working from home now. We still take walks down the creek with one particular neighbor but we stay 6 feet apart. We haven't been inside each other's houses at all, the outdoor walks only. The only other place we go is the grocery store and we don't take the kids off our property.

The only exception was on Saturday I drove to pick up our new puppy. I didn't stop anywhere on the way there or back.

 

[HeatherC]

I am home with my two daughters full time now since the schools are closed and we are all involved in the schools. We have not been around other people in 10 days. That was the last time I went to the grocery store. We are now doing pickup and delivery for groceries.

DH is essential and he is now working a couple days a week from home. He has had his staff go to split shifts so only a few people are there at a time in each of his facilities. When he is in the office, there are only three other people there and they are each in their own offices. Meetings are on Zoom.

My son is in another state and home from work. He has been using grocery delivery and has been home over a week now.

We are not seeing family at all which is hard because we have a big family and are close to everyone. Lots of FaceTime but we miss them.

I think we are doing all we can at this point.

 

[antmaril]

My son is a NP in an ER. He is single and I am widowed. He lives four miles from me. The only time I have left my condo in the last week, is to care for his dog when he is at work.

I haven’t been anywhere else in a week. My intention is to keep this up as long as I have to. I have placed an order to pickup groceries at Kroger for Friday.

We all need to stay home as much as possible. Oh, and don’t forget to wash your hands a million times a day.

 

[PAsFab5]

When this started 3 weeks ago we were visiting with family but things have gotten too scary for me to continue with visits. We have not visited anyone or had people in our home for 2 weeks.

Myself and DH can work from home full time so we are doing that and DS is a senior in high school and all classes have been moved online, however he is a essential worker for Advanced Automotive so he is at work in the public 40+ hours per week which makes me so nervous. DD is in 6th grade and online school starts today. She has not been allowed friends to visit or sleepovers for over 2 weeks now.

I will be shopping Saturday morning when our stores open for food and essentials but that is it. We do grocery delivery to my in laws so they don’t have to go out, but we don’t visit.

I walk 2xs a day with the dogs but I usually only see 1-2 other people and it’s very far distance between us.

 

[PAsFab5]

We are both working from home now. We still take walks down the creek with one particular neighbor but we stay 6 feet apart. We haven't been inside each other's houses at all, the outdoor walks only. The only other place we go is the grocery store and we don't take the kids off our property.

The only exception was on Saturday I drove to pick up our new puppy. I didn't stop anywhere on the way there or back.

Congrats on your puppy!!! Great time for a new pet. I foster for a rescue and our adoptions have been through the roof!!! Both my foster puppies were adopted last weekend, I was so happy for them!

 

[RedAngie]

DH and I have been working at home the past two weeks. We took a walk every afternoon or early evening. Twice we drove around various neighborhoods for an hour or so. DD came over yesterday for a few hours.

I've been to the supermarket twice and Target once since this started, but otherwise avoided going where people congregate.

We're on vacation this week (supposed to be in Florida), and I'm not sure how we're going to fill the time. There are a few projects to do around the house if we get motivated to do them. I'll probably read, watch TV, and browse the internet a lot.

 

[Anchored]

I am working from home
My kids are out of school
I go out once a week for groceries. We don't have anyone over, we don't go to anyone's house. We take walks around the block in the evening. My brother, sister, and mom all live within 10 minutes of me, so we could, but we are taking this very seriously and doing our best to stop the spread of this virus, if not for ourselves, for the greater good of our community.
I saw a video last night of bodies being loaded onto refrigerated 18 wheelers in Brooklyn. Where I live is the most densely populated county in Florida. #SafeAtHome #HappyAtHome

 

[lorimay]

Its Me, hubby, son, daughter-in-law and 2 yr old grandson.
My husband still going in everyday (police officer) so he is getting exposure. He is taking great measures, but you know, its a crap shoot. He tries to do the grocery store since he out already.
I'm home 95% with the baby.
My son was in the police academy, sadly its closed now, so he's in a hold pattern, but he can isolate more and not risk getting it and go back healthy when it opens again.
My daughter in law works for a city, she just started working from home this morning.
So we are now 75% contained.

 

[DisLiss]

I'm home with our kids every day while DH is still working. In the last two weeks, DH did go shopping once and he filled the car with gas once. Otherwise we're not going near anyone at all. We either stay home or we take walks nearby to our home. We live in a rural area, so homes are more spread out and tend to be set far back from the road. It's easy to take a walk and see no one or only see people who are far more than 6 feet away from you.

My parents and my in-laws live in the same town as us but we haven't seen them in 2 weeks. (DH did drop a few bags of food on his parents' back porch, but he did not go in the house and no one came out until he was already getting back into the car.

Our goal is to not get sick. So while we cannot do anything about him working, we can try to reduce contact in all other ways possible. Grocery shopping is the toughie right now. With the panic buying that went on, stores now have such low limits that it makes it harder to stay away for as long as we'd like to. The past two weeks we had our regular winter pantry to fall back on, but now the limits are less than what we would normally buy for one week. (We typically only shop once a week, so we have our family's week worth of food down to a science.) Now, the grocery trip is more difficult and therefore he's at the store longer than I would like him to be.

 

[paisleys]

I am working from home
My kids are out of school
I go out once a week for groceries. We don't have anyone over, we don't go to anyone's house. We take walks around the block in the evening. My brother, sister, and mom all live within 10 minutes of me, so we could, but we are taking this very seriously and doing our best to stop the spread of this virus, if not for ourselves, for the greater good of our community.
I saw a video last night of bodies being loaded onto refrigerated 18 wheelers in Brooklyn. Where I live is the most densely populated county in Florida. #SafeAtHome #HappyAtHome

We are similar. It's been once a week for groceries. In and out, and I was completely on edge the whole time. We couldn't wait to get home. With this crisis, you can really distinguish between the introverts and extroverts. We have one neighbor, SAHM and husband rarely works, they've been in and out all day every day. They just can't help themselves to be around people. The introverts (like us) have rarely been seen, if at all. My good friend even invited my kids to hang out with her family yesterday, absolutely not.

 

[design_mom]

We're a family of 4. I worked from home even before this mess started. DH is working from home for the foreseeable future. DS is home from college and doing online classes. DD is home from high school and doing online classes (although this is "spring break" week for her.) My son worked in a grocery store through high school and summer. They have asked him to come back, but right now he has declined and is working on his studies.

• I have only been to the grocery store in the last couple of weeks for our once-a-week grocery trips. (We do have some stores who offer pickup/delivery, but they are overwhelmed with requests right now and I feel like I ought to leave the slots for people who are higher risk than I am, so I have been going in person.)
• We have gotten restaurant food a couple of times, but are using places that have drive-thru or curbside pickup.
• We have walked our dog around our neighborhood but have not come within 6' of anybody else.

I normally get together with my sister's family, my parents, my SIL's family and my in-law's pretty much weekly, but we have not seen any of them in person for 2+ weeks. I have dropped off things from the grocery to them if I've found something they need -- and my sister made shamrock cookies for St. Patrick's Day and left a plate of them on my porch -- but we haven't spoken face-to-face.

 

[lorimay]

I'm home with our kids every day while DH is still working. In the last two weeks, DH did go shopping once and he filled the car with gas once. Otherwise we're not going near anyone at all. We either stay home or we take walks nearby to our home. We live in a rural area, so homes are more spread out and tend to be set far back from the road. It's easy to take a walk and see no one or only see people who are far more than 6 feet away from you.

My parents and my in-laws live in the same town as us but we haven't seen them in 2 weeks. (DH did drop a few bags of food on his parents' back porch, but he did not go in the house and no one came out until he was already getting back into the car.

Our goal is to not get sick. So while we cannot do anything about him working, we can try to reduce contact in all other ways possible. Grocery shopping is the toughie right now. With the panic buying that went on, stores now have such low limits that it makes it harder to stay away for as long as we'd like to. The past two weeks we had our regular winter pantry to fall back on, but now the limits are less than what we would normally buy for one week. (We typically only shop once a week, so we have our family's week worth of food down to a science.) Now, the grocery trip is more difficult and therefore he's at the store longer than I would like him to be.

This is the sad part, we just have my Mom left and we can't visit or bring her over for dinner.
Yesterday, I dropped dinner to her and talked to her from a distance for 5 minutes.
Its so hard, she misses my Dad so much and this makes it so much worse.

 

[easyas123]

Everyone in our immediate family works at the same Company, although different locations. One of our two sons currently living in our basement apartments as he saves for house. So - we haven't had to distance from our immediate family, and we are fortunate to live on a farm. Lots to do outside and places to do it. Only place we currently go is work and home, and pop into the grocery & beer store when needed, about once per week.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

I know there are many levels of distancing and people have their own take on it. Just curious how far you've taken it or how lax you are?

My household consists of me, my husband, my son & his girlfriend. We also have an inlaw apt with two adults over there. The inlaws do not work and have barely left the house (which is a good thing. My MIL has been giving me money to pick up things at the store for her)

I'm a school bus driver so obviously, I'm out of work. But the other 3 people in my house are essential workers so needless to say, they're near people throughout the day.

My other son lives 5 mins down the road with his girlfriend & step son (5). My son is also an essential employee. His girlfriend was temp laid off.

For us, the only time I go out is to go to the grocery store early Saturday mornings and then I'll take a drive to the nearby cemetery or campground to go for a walk and get some fresh air. My husband and I will sometimes take a drive for about an hour or so just to get out. And sometimes my other son/family will come over for a few hours/dinner. But I'm wondering if I should stop their visitations until hopefully this blows over.

So curious, what's your level of distancing? Do you still get together (even briefly) with your family or have you stopped that all together? I saw a thing of FB that said something like "I'd rather not see my family/friends for a couple months than never see them again" And that just hit a wake up nerve.

DH is working from home; he has been for the last 2 weeks. DS is home from school; he lost the last week of school before spring break, which was last week. He'll be homeschooling for now, per the school district.

I haven't seen any other family members, mainly because they are all across the country.

I have gone the grocery store or CVS as needed; and a couple trips to the post office (to mail and pick up packages, as the mail person is not delivering to our house anymore). We've done some food delivery, to help out the restaurants in our area. For fresh air, I'll pop out onto the porch for a few minutes, but as it's been in the high 80s/low 90s here with 80% humidity, I'm staying mostly inside.

 

[firefly_ris]

Congrats on your puppy!!! Great time for a new pet. I foster for a rescue and our adoptions have been through the roof!!! Both my foster puppies were adopted last weekend, I was so happy for them!

Thank you! We fostered puppies, dogs, and cats for several years ourselves, but had to stop last summer due to an unfortunate incident. Both our own shelter mutts have passed away and my heart is still aching for my girl dog that died last May. This puppy is from a breeder, I was having a very difficult time locating this specific breed in rescue. This was my first foray into this and it's been a while since I've had a dog that isn't "temporary" in the way fosters are. This pickup date was already set before the quarantine stuff started happening so it kind of just happened to work out that we are all home all the time now, which is going to make routines and potty training easier for me with 4 other people in the house to help!

 

[mombrontrent]

I haven’t changed at all because I’ve been social distancing for years I go to work and that’s it. My dh goes to work and does the grocery shopping. At least I have a valid excuse for not wanting to go out or socialize now.

 

[Sabeking]

This is the sad part, we just have my Mom left and we can't visit or bring her over for dinner.
Yesterday, I dropped dinner to her and talked to her from a distance for 5 minutes.
Its so hard, she misses my Dad so much and this makes it so much worse.

I feel your pain. We lost my mom 4 years ago and my dad is sad enough that she is gone but now we can’t see him and he put the care giver on hold for himself for a few weeks. He has become so depressed. Really nothing I can do now but pray for him but it breaks my heart that he is so alone.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

Our household is me, my mother, my husband, and our son. DH is a loan servicer for a credit union, so he is still working. The credit union closed the teller lobby to customers, so it's just drive-up service, and up in the offices, all employees who are over 60 and/or in a high-risk health situation are working from home. DH is neither of those. With more than half of the office WFH, they were able to spread out and now DH has his own office. Too bad it's only temporary We were also nervous because we live in CT but the credit union is in MA, which just instituted the "out-of-state visitors must quarantine for 14 days," but as an "essential worker" he is exempt.

Unfortunately, his parents live in MA as well. They are 77 and 83. They do not have a computer, have basic cell phones that only make calls, Dad cannot drive, Mom does drive but she has difficulty standing and walking for long periods, so they need significant help with grocery shopping. My BIL does live in MA but cannot go out much himself, as my SIL is a type-1 diabetic and he doesn't want to bring anything home to her. DH is going to stop by his parents' house tomorrow with some food and drawings that our son did for them, but he won't go in the house - says he will talk to them through the door.

My mother, with whom we live, is 65 and retired. She went out yesterday to grocery shop but is otherwise staying home. I'm a SAHM and don't have a car, so DS (4 1/2 years) are completely at home. I try to get him out for at least one walk around the block per day. We rarely encounter neighbors, but if we do, we step off to the side to allow them to pass us, and if we want to talk, we notice that we all seem to back away from each other naturally. Other than that, we stay in our own yard when we're outside. There's a little girl who lives next door, I think she's about 8 years old, who wanted to come over and play with DS when she saw him outside. I don't think she fully understood when her father yelled at her that she was absolutely NOT allowed to come over, or even leave the house at that moment.

I did notice that our mail carrier wouldn't hand me the mail one day when I was standing right there as he pulled up. He stopped to look at our chalk drawings, talked to me for a moment, but held on to the mail in the truck and then pulled up to the mailbox to deliver it. No big deal, I totally understand that.

I've noticed a few of my friends saying that they won't hug their kids right now. We really can't get away with that, so we're still hugging DS, laying down with him at night, etc. My mother isn't much of a hugger in the first place. DH and I don't kiss goodbye in the morning, but we do give hugs and we still sleep in the same bed. So within our house, we're not distancing very well.

 

[robinb]

It’s just my DH and I. We’re both working from home. We get out and walk a bit. I shop for groceries (now once a week). We talk to neighbors from a distance of over 6 feet.

Is anyone social distancing from their families at home?