April 8, 2020
Good Afternoon,
For many of you, today marks the last workday of a short work week. I hope you each are able to relax a bit this holiday weekend and spend time with people you love (even if it is virtually).
We are expecting Governor Whitmer to extend the Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives Executive Order in the next few days. As it stands, the current shelter-in-place order is set to expire on Monday, April 13. If she does extend the order, I will provide another update on Monday covering any changes that impact our day-to-day work lives.
We are continuing our efforts to order additional masks and cloth face coverings. We were able to acquire a limited supply of medical masks and face coverings that will be distributed to employees early next week based on job assignment and ability to social distance.
I’d like to end today’s message with another story from a co-worker. This one comes from John Cipolla, engineering technician in Design and Construction.
“One of the best things to come out of this challenging situation is the fact that we all sit around our dinner table for meals. With kids in travel sports, eating dinner together was rarely an option. Meals were made to be eaten on the go or whenever you got the chance. Cindy and I find this new routine to be very helpful in our communication with the kids. Although they would never admit it, we believe the kids are enjoying it too. 
The kids have also figured a way to include Cindy’s mother in their late night Yahtzee games. This is a good way for us to help with her forced solitude.”
John’s family really had some great ideas for coping and keeping things positive during these challenging times. Thank you for the wonderful ideas John!
If you would like to share ways you and your family are coping, send them my way.
Thank you again for all your work.
Please enjoy your holiday weekend and stay safe!
Sheryl
