As I write this, we were supposed to be on a bus from the Montego Bay airport to our beautiful resort on the Jamaican coast. A few short weeks ago, I was so excited at the prospect of the warm Jamaican sun, relaxing music, amazing food, lying on the beach in the shade of palm trees... Less than a month ago, I was planning what to pack, and debating whether to kennel the dog or try to find a house sitter. Only just over 2 weeks ago, we decided to cancel our trip "just in case"...

Now, all flights to Jamaica in the next several weeks have been canceled, and the resorts are officially closed until May.

How quickly things can change, and how drastically a tiny virus can change the lives of millions of people...

For years, people have given me weird looks when they hear that we can our own food from the garden, or how much time I spend harvesting and preserving vegetables every summer and fall.

Now, it's not so funny. Grocery shelves are sparsely stocked in many areas, and people are afraid to leave their homes. My husband's multiple weekly shopping trips have diminished to less than one. Fortunately, there is little that we actually need to buy. Last week, we prepared all of our meals for the week without going grocery shopping at all!

This is the time of coronavirus - a time when homesteading doesn't look so crazy after all...

My, how things can change in a week...

I was just thinking how, last weekend, I served in the toddler room at church taking care of some cute little 2-3 year-olds. Other than an increased emphasis on using hand sanitizer, there didn't seem to be much discussion of the coronavirus, and from what I could tell, the congregation was approximately the usual size. The only alarming incident of the day was when a two-year-old escaped her parents in the crowd after the service and could not be found for some time. (Don't worry - after walking around the entire building, I was able to locate her and return her to her parents.)  :-)

One week later, church services and gatherings - as well as schools, universities, library classes, and sporting events - are either cancelled or being held virtually or at a limited scale. (Much to our sadness, my husband and I also cancelled his 50th-birthday trip to Jamaica which we had been looking forward to for many months now.)

As connected as our world is today, a global pandemic was just a matter of time so we should have been prepared, but it's still incredibly alarming. Thank goodness the virus isn't more deadly, as this could be much worse...

Even so, the disruption to our everyday lives is already startling in its scope. Kids are home from school, businesses are shutting down or cancelling events, parents are missing work, stores can't keep shelves stocked, the stock market is hitting daily lows, the travel industry is plummeting (and during the busy spring break season)... It feels like we're inches away from panic in the streets - yet the virus has really only just begun to spread in most countries.

Our job now, as a society, is to do our part to control the spread of the disease. The success of any proposed government action is going to depend on our willingness to participate in control measures. Thankfully, there are a number of things we can do to protect ourselves from the coronavirus and therefore slow its spread throughout our population.

Last week, we talked about a few of the hazards of not getting enough sleep. Unfortunately, this is a problem that far too many people struggle with in today's world.

Like many others (including myself), you've probably had the experience of feeling like you're dragging your feet just to get through the day, feeling dead-tired by dinner time, being foggy-headed at work most of the day, and downing cup after cup of coffee just to try to stay focused.

In fact, people often treat lack of sleep as something to be proud of - even as a sign of how hard they work!

But there IS a price to pay, and the guest article below discusses some of the negative consequences of sleep deficit disorder.

Regardless of the reason for it, lack of quality sleep significantly affects your health, performance, safety, and even your bank account--although you may not even realize it...

Sleep...

We all need it to survive. In fact, you can live for more than twice as long without food than you can without sleep!

It's one of the most natural things in the world, and it's something that most of us enjoy greatly. Yet sleep continues to be elusive for millions of people in today's modern world - and few of us get enough of it.

There are a number of potential causes for our sleeplessness - from stress, to lack of exercise, to that ubiquitous "blue light," but the factors that contribute to your lack of sleep can vary for each person, so it can be difficult to narrow down an exact cause for your own sleep issues.

However, for many people, one thing that can help significantly is to create an environment that is conducive to rest, and then to maintain a consistent bedtime routine before you retire. 

This month's "Freebie" is designed to help you do just that...