I can remember in December, January, and February seeing news about a new virus spreading in China called Coronavirus and thinking it would be well in hand in a few more weeks, like other viruses before it. I wasn't *nearly* as worried about Coronavirus as I was when Ebola spread a few years ago, or even some of the bad flu years. Then, in March, everything changed. I was distracted quite a bit by Evan being in The Addams Family, and worried he'd get the flu, which was also going around. Even Dan tested positive for flu the week before opening and he quarantined the second week of March. I was disinfecting everything before it was cool (and thank goodnesss I had stocked up on Clorox wipes because in just a week, they became extremely hard to find).
Despite everything going on at home, at work we were tracking the spread of COVID-19 (for whatever reason, using the more official name) and already sending messages for our global offices in regards to travel. The first cases were diagnosed in Indiana, then Kentucky. Then the rumblings of a "work from home" period started....first, two days, then, two weeks. It all seems so naive now. We are nine months in and I am still working from home. The virus has spread rapidly - as I write this, nearly 80 million cases worldwide and 1.75 million deaths. In the U.S., 18.8 million and 330,000 deaths. I wish I could say we have managed to avoid these staggering numbers in those we know and love, but I doubt anyone can say that. We have lost extended family members, and had too many friends with it who have thankfully recovered but are still fighting the long-term effects. Yet we also know many who have tested positive and dealt with only minor or moderate symptoms and recovered. It has not, that we know of, entered our own house. We had a small scare in October when Evan had a fever, so we immediately quarantined and had him tested, but he was thankfully negative.
Covid-fatigue, this feeling of being tired of being at home, isolated not just from the world but from family members and friends, has contributed greatly to the increase in cases and fatalities. Although mask mandates (and wow, has that been a strange experience!) are still in place, some ignore them, wear them incorrectly, and swear their inefficacy despite medical advisement. We have seeen the worst in people....but also the best. I don't want to lose sight of that because 2020 has been such a terrible year.
Selfishly, I got to spend an entire Summer at home with my kids. Something I never thought I would get to do. Yes, I had to work, and when this whole thing started in the Spring, I was insanely busy working not just during work hours, but in the evenings and on weekends, and just trying to keep up with the necessary communications. The kids never went back to school after Spring Break and everything went virtual. They did get to go back to a modified hybrid virtual/in person schedule in mid-August (Evan going two days/week, and Connor four to five), but we entered a second lockdown just before Thanksgiving. As of now, they will get to go back again the second week of January. I pray the schools can continue to stay open and cases will decline. Vaccines are rolling out now, and I so look forward to being able to get it so we can start to see a light at the end of this tunnel.
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Coronavirus Changes Everything
I can remember in December, January, and February seeing news about a new virus spreading in China called Coronavirus and thinking it would be well in hand in a few more weeks, like other viruses before it. I wasn't *nearly* as worried about Coronavirus as I was when Ebola spread a few years ago, or even some of the bad flu years. Then, in March, everything changed. I was distracted quite a bit by Evan being in The Addams Family, and worried he'd get the flu, which was also going around. Even Dan tested positive for flu the week before opening and he quarantined the second week of March. I was disinfecting everything before it was cool (and thank goodnesss I had stocked up on Clorox wipes because in just a week, they became extremely hard to find).
Despite everything going on at home, at work we were tracking the spread of COVID-19 (for whatever reason, using the more official name) and already sending messages for our global offices in regards to travel. The first cases were diagnosed in Indiana, then Kentucky. Then the rumblings of a "work from home" period started....first, two days, then, two weeks. It all seems so naive now. We are nine months in and I am still working from home. The virus has spread rapidly - as I write this, nearly 80 million cases worldwide and 1.75 million deaths. In the U.S., 18.8 million and 330,000 deaths. I wish I could say we have managed to avoid these staggering numbers in those we know and love, but I doubt anyone can say that. We have lost extended family members, and had too many friends with it who have thankfully recovered but are still fighting the long-term effects. Yet we also know many who have tested positive and dealt with only minor or moderate symptoms and recovered. It has not, that we know of, entered our own house. We had a small scare in October when Evan had a fever, so we immediately quarantined and had him tested, but he was thankfully negative.
Covid-fatigue, this feeling of being tired of being at home, isolated not just from the world but from family members and friends, has contributed greatly to the increase in cases and fatalities. Although mask mandates (and wow, has that been a strange experience!) are still in place, some ignore them, wear them incorrectly, and swear their inefficacy despite medical advisement. We have seeen the worst in people....but also the best. I don't want to lose sight of that because 2020 has been such a terrible year.
Selfishly, I got to spend an entire Summer at home with my kids. Something I never thought I would get to do. Yes, I had to work, and when this whole thing started in the Spring, I was insanely busy working not just during work hours, but in the evenings and on weekends, and just trying to keep up with the necessary communications. The kids never went back to school after Spring Break and everything went virtual. They did get to go back to a modified hybrid virtual/in person schedule in mid-August (Evan going two days/week, and Connor four to five), but we entered a second lockdown just before Thanksgiving. As of now, they will get to go back again the second week of January. I pray the schools can continue to stay open and cases will decline. Vaccines are rolling out now, and I so look forward to being able to get it so we can start to see a light at the end of this tunnel.
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