we first started to hear about the corona virus, which is now called COVID-19, back on our florida trip. the man that checked us into the cruise at the port began telling us horror stories about all the germs that happen on ships and how there isn't any way in hell he would be getting on a ship right now. (that was fantastic to hear and didn't cause any panic. haha.) such a great worker and endorser of his company. on our cruise ship all of the ship workers were constantly telling you to wash your hands (washy-washy), we washed our hands ALOT and used a lot of sanitizer. while on the ship we started to read about ships that were getting sick passengers on board and how quickly the virus was spreading in china. chad brought up a few pages one night at dinner about what the death projections would be like if it continued to grow in the trend it was going, we were all mind blown. we all thought, there is no way. we continued to read a few articles and i can remember not even being worried about any of it. in my mind there was no way this would even be a big deal outside of china.
well. i was wrong. over the course of a couple months the virus spread far out of china and made its way in to america. we started to wonder if we would be able to continue with our plans of going to seattle for spring break.
chase and i left to las vegas on march 10. everything was normal there when we arrived, there was no panic yet. our second day, march 11. the panic started to come, rumors started to spread about a national shut down. sports teams started cancelling their games, the NBA shut down.
march 12 the church announced that gatherings of church members were going to be temporarily suspended. we will now be doing church at home with our own families. we also have been told we could perform and partake of the sacrament each week at home.
we had tickets to go to the PAC 12 championship game that night in las vegas. that morning it was announced the NCAA championships would be cancelled. all the sudden the strip turned into a ghost town. all the casinos closed their buffets. ubers started cancelling rides. flights started to get cancelled. we started to wonder if we were going to get home or if we would have to rent a car and drive. a few shows in las vegas even closed. the con expo packed it up 2 days early, we had already spent 2 days there with thousands and thousands of people. all touching the same stuff. i thought for sure we would get sick. no question in my mind with the way they were saying it spreads. our last day in vegas the news said a few cases of covid-19 had been positive from the MGM grand, the place we had just spent a lot of time in. i haven't ever been so excited to get back home in my life. the airport felt like a house of germs, more than normal. the airplane felt gross and people tried so hard to sit away from other passengers.
we got home late late friday night. we woke up saturday morning and went to the store to snag some essentials and food but the food was GONE, the shelves were near empty. all toilet paper was GONE. there was no bleach, lysol, cleaners, hand sanitizer. no pasta, cheese, lunch meats, shampoo, beef, chicken, frozen meals. it was so weird. especially since i went to the store before we left on monday morning to make sure there was plenty of food for the week for brit and everything was there. then saturday it was all gone. my mind was blown. we got what we could and went home.
sunday, march 14, was our first home church sunday. we did it at my parents home with my family. it was fun. tegan was able to pass the sacrament for everyone, my dad did the lesson, it was a neat and special experience. that evening they cancelled school until March 30. all sporting events then got cancelled as well. people were suppose to start to work from home and they implemented social distancing. i have to say, it was a week of nice warm weather and i loved being able to hang out with my kids all day everyday. we spent lots of time outside. watched movies. had movie marathons. made lots of treats and really really enjoyed being together. just us. no constantly ringing doorbells or 30 friends arriving at a time. it was nice. really really nice.
but then, on thursday, march 26 the governor came out and said social distancing wasn't enough and we, Idaho, would now go into a stay-at-home mandate lasting until april 20. we are suppose to only leave home for the necessities. only essential businesses would be open, all else should be closed. parks are closed. trails are closed. theaters are closed. friends are off limits, we are even staying away from family right now. the schools have cancelled school until april 21, but they sound like they won't be going back to school this year.
something in me freaked out. we had planned to go camping that weekend and now we couldn't. i felt trapped and stuck. my excitement and the enjoyment of it being just us all the time seemed to disappear. i panicked knowing we were now going to be stuck here for longer. i like to be out and about. i like to go and do things. i am not a home body. i enjoy moving, coming and going as i please and i really really like hanging out with friends and family.
chase began working from home on monday march 30 even though his job is considered essential. the accountant in their office started running a fever over the weekend so they all figured it would be best to shut the office down and work from home. he has a nice office set up on a folding table in our bedroom. it has been fun to have him here. nice to see his face every now and then during the day. his accountants test came back positive a few days ago and their secretary and her husband also started running a fever this week and they got their results today, positive, so he will be here for a week or two longer. our fingers crossed we stay healthy and this doesn't affect us. both of them say they just feel like they have the flu, sounds like they are lucky.
tegan had a virtual YM activity last night on zoom. all the deacons got together and talked about how crazy life is right now and checked in on each other.
it is so weird that this is now life. social distancing. stay at home mandates. working from home. school from home. talking to friends on zoom.
starting monday, april 13 remote learning begins for the kids. i am suppose to teach them school from home. heaven help me, i am not looking forward to this. i have enjoyed zero schedule with nothing to do. although, the last few days have been insanely long and boring. i think we are all a little tired of being home, being together and having no space. the kids miss their friends, heck, i really miss my friends and family. i miss having an outlet to go do something. i miss going to lunch, i miss eating out. i miss date nights. i miss sitting here alone watching grey's anatomy. i miss being able to go to the store and wander around and not feel like i need to hold my breath with everyone i pass by but like i keep telling the kids, we can do hard things. we are hunkered down and ready to make it to april 20 and with a little luck then life will resume.
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