Friday, March 13, 2020, is the day our lives paused indefinitely. We had just celebrated the girls' birthday and Andrew's first t-ball game and even had a school birthday celebration during the week. There was already talk and worry about Covid-19 spreading in the US, but it was still only in the back of our minds. We carried on with life as usual for that week until Friday came around.
I started a new job just the week prior and we were juggling school and work schedules along with t-ball practice and ballet in a carefully choreographed juggling act involving grandparents, shared iPhone calendars, and lots of coordination. Thursday, talk of Covid seemed to ramp up and there was talk of shutting down schools and businesses. Friday we all went to school and work as usual and at 2pm our School Board voted to close the schools for two weeks. Since schools get out at 2:30pm, most teachers and parents did not hear the news until after school was over and there was no time for teachers to prep work for kids let alone say goodbye for what would end up being the final meeting of the year. It was all very chaotic and it's obvious now that a lot of people panicked as the County quickly implemented stay-at-home orders, mask requirements, and started shutting down non-essential businesses. Toilet paper, rice, baking necessities, and cleaning supplies quickly disappeared from store shelves as people hoarded these items during this crazy time. Grocery stores and their suppliers could not keep up with the demand and there are still items 6 months later that are not fully stocked or readily available.
The kids found out about the school closure right after school and to add to the girls' disappointment after ballet that night they found out that the studio was also closing. At the time none of us thought it would be closed for nearly 5 months before finally re-opening in a limited capacity. At first, it felt like an extended Spring Break with time spent at my parents with just some time spent reading or doing some of their school computer games. The District scrambled to put together a Distance Learning plan that would eventually finish out the school year. That was finally up and running at the beginning of April and the kids did really well working remotely to finish out the year. The girls' teachers were awesome at having regular live meetings and instruction and Andrew's teacher had 2x per week live meetings and instruction. The rest of the work was done independently and the kids basically worked on school every morning and were done by lunchtime and enjoyed the free time every afternoon. It was a nice balance for them during such a crazy time.
They were sad about all the things they missed. They missed their friends, were sad we had to cancel our Hawaiian vacation for the summer due to Hawaii's strict quarantine requirements and mourned all the end of year activities that now would not happen. We started a Freedom Wish List jar where we could all write down things we missed and can't wait to do when this is all over and we are free again. There were things like trips to the beach, play dates with friends, going to the park, going shopping etc. We made the most of the time we had together. The girls got back in to sewing and baking. Andrew is still enjoying Minecraft but also is obsessed with LEGO and has increased his reading. We have done puzzles, got a tree swing, swim in the pool more than ever, watch movies, play games, and try to find ways to entertain ourselves. There are definitely times where we are bored and stir crazy but we have been able to make it work.
I was fortunate that my employer sent everyone to work remotely at the end of March and I have been working from home ever since. Kevin was also working from home for about a month before they went back and can do it now whenever he needs to, so we have been very lucky to have that flexibility. Some days are harder than others to get work done but we've been making it work so far.
Things started to open back up here early/mid summer only to have Covid cases surge and the re-opening stepped back. We are all used to wearing masks everywhere we go now, washing our hands a zillion times a day and using sanitizer at every opportunity while we're out and about. Restaurants still can only do delivery, take-out or outdoor seating and parks, libraries and indoor malls are still closed. Meet-ups and playdates are still mostly outdoors and church services are limited or closed as well.
Honestly, this has been a really nice break from all the busy-ness we had before. Running around for school and work, plus extracurricular activities, then errands and birthday parties and homework etc. We were busy! Now to have most of that removed, or at least scaled back, has been a really nice break to assess our priorities and how we want to balance things going forward. The house is always messy, we go through more groceries than I can keep up with, but we are healthy and together and that's what matters most.
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