DAY 39

We own a small business. We service swimming pools and have a retail store selling pool related items - chemicals, toys, equipment, etc. Since we are seasonal here in Michigan we were just gearing up for 2020 when the stay at home order went into effect. As soon as the schools closed we had customers who wanted their pools opened. Even though the weather was cold, they planned to crank up their heaters and deal with the sky high gas or electric bills.

We have not been able to open our store, but have set up a water sample drop off station in front of the building. Customers can leave a water sample, which we test and then call them with the results. We also offer curbside pickup of chemicals or other things that they might need. Evidently we are deemed non-essential, but if you have a pool that is up and running it is essential that you keep the water balanced so that you don't end up with a swamp.

Additionally we were relocating to a new building in March. Luckily we had a Pod filled and moved to the new location early in the month. We had employees in for several weeks unloading the pod and organizing the new store. My husband and one employee have opened a few pools over the last couple of weeks. They are outside and do not have to come in contact with the pool owners. We are doing everything that we can to keep our employees and our customers safe.

I do all of the bookwork and can access my work computer from home, but I still have to go into the office on occasion to pick up checks for bank deposits and to do miscellaneous paperwork. Miss Nine has her own desk in the corner of my office where she does schoolwork or plays office while I am working. It is not at all easy to focus with a nine year old chattering away five feet away. I saw a post on Facebook that said "being quarantined with a talkative child is like having an insane parrot superglued to your shoulder." Truer words have never, ever been spoken.

We applied at our bank for a small business loan offered by the federal government. The interest rate is 1%. If we use the money for payroll, rent on our building and utilities the loan will be forgiven. This is an attempt by the government to prevent small businesses from failing. This money is intended to cover two months expenses while the economy is at a standstill. I know that this is a lifesaver for us and for many other businesses. Last year at this point in April we took in $8815.57. This year we have taken in $3634.86 in the same time period. This seriously impacts our ability to pay our bills and our employees.We have not seen any money from this loan yet, even though we applied on the first day we could. The initial $349 billion evidently ran out and now Congress is funding an additional $340 billion for this program. That is a whole lot of money.

I have given a lot of thought to the fact that our society is structured in such a way that we can have this much financial difficulty in such a short time. I don't exactly know what the lesson is here, but I hope we all learn it and do things differently in the future.