For months we had been hearing about this virus in China. For months we watched how cruise lines and other places far from us were closing down and quarantining. The week leading up to Friday the 13th it started getting closer to us. A few Utahns had been some of the quarantined people on a cruise ship, Jazz players were announced as carrying the virus. We were being advised to wash our hands more and sanitize. Our school was taking precautions to stay extra clean. It was announced that there would not be church services until further notice, in trying to cut down on large group gatherings. People wondered how we could continue to send hundreds and thousands of kids to the same building and not spread anything. For a few days teachers were advised to be thinking about how we might help students keep learning remotely if we cannot have school.
The day after the ski trip, Friday the 13th, I followed the guidelines and kept Elisabeth home from school. She had a cough and sore throat the day of the ski trip and was a little worse after. I went in to work for the morning to attend meetings then took the afternoon off. We joked about school being canceled and having an extra long spring break. I was agonizing over flights for our planned spring break trip to San Francisco that conflicted with Ellie's dance competition. I booked and rebooked flights to accommodate. Then I received a text from a coworker telling me how our principal had been called into an emergency district meeting. It was obvious that something was going on and our questions were answered when it was announced that school would be dismissed for the next two weeks. For us that meant we'd have 3 weeks total before returning to school as there was the two weeks and then spring break.
The following week involved me going into work for a few days to help prepare for two weeks of remote learning, the kids sleeping in and waiting to see what home school would involve. Kelly continued working as normal and we tried our best to do some social distancing. We watched as news of COVID19 took over the TV. We watched as numbers grew and grew. At first it was like a weird dream and it would pass quickly and life as we knew it would return. It seemed to be something that was happening all around us, rather than happening to us.
During the two weeks before spring break we tried to find things to do that kept us away from others and out of public areas, as was advised.
Spring began to peek out
For the first two weeks our district handed out lunch daily from 10-11:00 to families. We had a drive up line and a walk up line. Hula hoops were used for those waiting to remember to stay 6 feet apart.
Being cooped in the house made it easier to get the kids out on walks with the dog and me. A routine has started where we'd find a different place to go walk the dog, and ourselves, in the afternoons.
A favorite was the river walk to Trapper Park.
Coop loved being able to get in the river so we did this walk several times.
As we continued to watch the spread of the virus across our country we realized the importance of following the guidelines and the reason why we should be strict on following them. I thought this was a great visual. We were not so worried about getting anything ourselves, but it didn't seem right to be part of the problem of possibly spreading anything to others. Especially when we think/thought about the affects of those at risk and those who work in healthcare. It's difficult when we have not been as affected in our little valley (we really do live in a bubble). However we've seen what happens when people didn't start sooner to distance themselves. The east coast cities and west coast cities. It makes sense that to date (I'm typing this a month later) Utah has not had the cases that other states have had.
During these first 3 weeks I was grateful for the slow down that this brought to our lives. It was kind of nice to not have the hectic mornings getting everyone off to school and work, and the crazy afternoons getting to all of the different activities going on. No church or church activities to prepare for and attend. No random knocks on the door. And after I really loved the time that has been spent with my kids and having to rely on each other to entertain ourselves. What a blessing this has been to allow us to do what we constantly are wanting, to slow things down, be present with one another and focus on the important things. One note, we did have toilet paper, but started to worry as the shelves continued to be empty for weeks.
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