Alright, SOGO loyals, it’s time for a chit-chat about social distancing. We know you’ve read the City of San Antonio’s announcements from Mayor Nirenberg regarding all the official advice on how to stay healthy during this pandemic, but we’re breaking it down for you a little bit more in-depth because – let’s face it – San Antonio is a very lively and social city, and some of us are riding the struggle bus of loneliness and boredom.
We should have known how serious things were when they postponed Fiesta 2020. We’re used to soaking up this beautiful weather with casual drinks on the patio at La Gloria, or play dates with friends at The Cove. It’s supposed to be a time of tissue paper flowers, papel picado, and bright colors in nature and all of our surroundings. But things took a turn in early March when the city’s businesses and general feeling among residents turned into panic. COVID-19 has changed the course of early 2020, and we’ve heard more and more about social distancing lately, but what does that mean?
Social distancing means staying away from crowds, and staying at least 6 feet from people when you absolutely have to interact. We love our Big Red and Barbacoa Sundays with friends too, but unfortunately, these things do not count as emergencies, despite how bad it feels right now. You probably know the general rules of social distancing, including postponing friendly date nights, play dates, and any fun social gatherings. Do you know how many Spring open bar weddings we were looking forward to?
Social distancing also means being really thoughtful about the way to handle situations. Take a garage sale for example. Garage sales happen every weekend all over the city. They’re fun to browse, and you never know what kind of treasure you’ll find. Let’s say you were planning to host a garage sale this next weekend because it’s the perfect weather and you already gathered and priced all of your things. You’ve been really careful about keeping away from others, and you know your items are clean. What’s the harm in hosting the garage sale if you’re not sick?
Now imagine a sweet older San Antonio Abuelita, bored out of her mind from staying at home and not being able to see her grandkids. Imagine her coming to your garage sale, browsing all the lovely items you have for sale. She’s standing next to a young family, who also has been pretty good about social distancing, but recently had a family get together involving 30 or so folks. Next to them is a woman in her 40s, who has been bouncing around town like there’s not a health crisis going on. Everyone involved has good enough intentions, but there’s no way you can control who has been where, and how honest they are about it either. What if that poor Abuelita caught germs from any of the other attendees, who caught those germs from other well-meaning folks around town, but didn’t even know they had those germs? You wouldn’t know she caught those germs until you heard about the news of hospitalization of that sweet lady, and all could have been avoided if you had followed the rules of social distancing.
The same applies to the grocery store. Yes, we all need food to eat and toilet paper to keep ourselves healthy during this time, but there are several ways San Antonio and area-residents can avoid being around people while still procuring items you need that does not involve hoarding. Not everyone has an Amazon Prime account, or an HEB Curbside account to be able to just hop in a car and pick up groceries on a whim. But everyone is capable of checking in with folks via the internet or phone, and finding out what they need to be safe and healthy. Does this mean you should visit every store that’s still open to save yourself from boredom? No. If it helps, pretend like the ground outside your home is lava. Every time you leave your home to go to non-essential places, you get burned. It’s like that – only the lava is the virus germs.
Make yourself and others around you, proud, in this time of practice. Stay inside when you can. Don’t be the person hosting a taco showdown or a pool party for all the neighborhood kids. We mean it. Stay healthy!
In case you missed it: “How to work remotely during COVID-19” gives you tips on how to survive working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grab your coffee, and your laptop and let’s get to work. Contact your SOGO agent today to learn more about what we’re doing to help our clients keep things as steady as possible.
