Nothing like a pandemic to make you realize that you are now considered "compromised." When did I become the old gal? One week I am at a rock concert in Vegas and within the next couple of days I am asked to stay indoors.

I am not complaining, really. I like to brag that I haven't been to a grocery store since the second week of March. Turns out I have some pretty cool neighbors and friends. They call me and ask if I need anything. My kids are even calling - and they are boys, so you know that's unusual.

Twenty years ago, I would have been that person on the front line. I would be the one handing out lunches to all the students and their parents as they drove up to school. I would wave to each child and tell them I miss them and to stay safe.

I would be that PTA lady who organized caravans and visited the young ones who have to celebrate birthdays without their friends. We would decorate our cars, honk our horns and wave banners - all at a safe distance, of course.

I would also be that reporter on the front lines (from my home it seems) calling up the hospital for a quote, finding that family who overcame a major obstacle to get home or the business owners who are doing everything they can to keep their doors open or their employees paid.

Today I am the grandma, and me and grandpa are home together 24 hours a day. No office to go to, no grandkids to enjoy, no meetings, no lunch dates and no reason to get out of our pajamas.

Week One was kind of fun. Everything on the calendar was wiped out. We started cancelling things - our tickets to "Hamilton." Gone. Our anniversary trip to Washington, D.C. Cancelled. A cruise to Italy. Definitely postponed.

I've been married for 43 years and I knew my husband was neat, but I never realized how much he enjoyed vacuuming. This Navy man can clean a bathroom like no one's business and he likes to get the Traeger out and make me awesome dinners. Bottles of wine were popped open because, really, where did we have to go?

But Week Two was different. All the best laid plans to stay on some sort of regular schedule went out the window. The mixer came out and cookies were baked. Bananas going bad? No problem. Banana bread it is. I gave up bread for Lent but then the Pope said Lent was off the table, so out came the breadmaker. I was having a lot of fun until I stepped on the scale.

When Week Three came around, there was a sense of "this will never be over." Waking up at 1am, I felt it was 1pm and maybe I should go out to the kitchen and make a sandwich. I started watching weird shows on TV. (Have you seen "Arizona?") I looked at people on Facebook who didn't seem to be social distancing and wondered why I was? I sectioned off my kitchen counter and learned how to disinfect every single thing that came into my house. I had to stop watching the news when nothing seemed to be getting better.

But then I started connecting again. I figured out ways to enjoy the grandkids from a distance. I learned how to Zoom so my brothers and sisters could play Family Feud with me and I could enjoy happy hour with friends. I taught my husband how to use Venmo and he taught me the proper way to make a bed, which was really awesome (insert sarcasm here).

I hear from friends who are taking the time to smell the roses, enjoy the nature right in their own backyard, understand what is important in life and what we waste so much of our time on.
The world is not asking much of us right now. Just be safe, stay home, lean on the assistance of friends and understand that this reboot is exactly what we need right now.