Today the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was thinking about seniors. In particular his father in law whose birthday it is today. He is 77 and undergoing treatment for cancer.
Trudeau gives a live update on Covid 19 every day at 11:15 am. He stands in front of his house, as he is in quarantine due to his wife having tested positive for the virus, after returning from a conference abroad. He asked Canadians to think about the seniors in their lives and “call them and tell them you love them.”
That is our Prime Minister! He reassures Canadians every day. Every Day! Last week he said: “Canadians abroad, it is time to come home.” Time to come home. What a Canadian way to put it. Polite. Calm. That was when my husband and I decided we needed to start the trip home. I had already booked for Biasini to ship home but then another spanner hit the works. Our home province, Ontario, declared a State of Emergency. This has unexpected consequences for all riding establishments in the Province. They were required to close to the public and only staff were allowed in to look after the horses. This meant that when Biasini arrived home I would not be able to be there to hand walk him and make sure he was drinking and adjusting to the huge change in temperature. Two years ago he arrived and there was too much ice for the horses to be turned out and in two days he developed an impaction colic and had to go the large animal hospital in Guelph. I did not want that to happen again and for me not to be able to be there. As all residents returning to Ontario are required to quarantine for 14 days. I would not be able to go to him at all. I made the decision to leave him in Florida where he can be ridden by Coach Lou and be out in the sunshine in his paddock.
My husband David and I started for home last Friday. The initial part of the trip the roads were crammed with cars , license plates from New York, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Quebec as well as Ontario. It was a mass exodus. We spent our first night in Columbia SC. David took our little dog June for a walk while I sprayed and sanitized every surface, knob, handle, and arm rest in the hotel room. We had brought all our food for the trip so we had dinner and a good nights sleep.
Next day we continued to Pittsburgh. Our third and final day on the road we found the highways deserted.
When we arrived at the Canadian Border I was shocked. Usually you can expect a delay of half an hour to an hour due to the volume of traffic. But …this time…..it was abandoned. Presumably other Ontarians had heeded the Prime Ministers requests faster than we did and now the border is closed to all but returning Canadians and transports.
This morning I woke up to this outside the bedroom window.
Well that’s Canada! At 11:15 I tuned in to Prime Minister Trudeau’s daily communication. He spoke in English and French with a prepared statement and then took questions from the media in French and English. At the end of his prepared statement he told us he was thinking about Seniors . ” Call them and tell them you love them”. Could there be a more important message in this time of Covid crisis? I don’ t think so.
Only a week ago I was in Florida. Things can change so quickly.
Stay well! Be safe! Don’t be a Covidiot! Do all the physical distancing and hand washing and tell the people,who matter to you, that you love them.
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