Thursday, March 12.
A normal day for us, and while all the buzz was about Coronavirus, I went to work, the kids had music lessons, swim team. At swim, we learned that championships were being cancelled, which came as a shock, leaving the older girls on the team in shock. I couldn’t imagine working so hard and being in your final year(s) of high school and missing out.
I did have a feeling schools would close soon, so I told the kids that when they went to school on Friday, they should bring home as much stuff as they could, or at least anything important they might want if schools closed.
We did do some pre-emptive shopping, since we knew that store shelves were clearing out. By the time we made it to the stores, there was no soap, toilet paper, or bleach. And very limited other supplies, like butter or cheese.
Friday, March 13, 5:21am.
We received messages that our school district was closed.
My kids stayed home while I went to work for a few hours, but all day long I was getting messages about Coronavirus in our area.
Friday night, my daughter’s friends were telling her that she was in contact with classmates who tested positive for Coronavirus, so she was extremely upset and worried.
Saturday, March 14.
I felt on edge all day, thinking that we would be contacted that my daughter had come in contact. It was a nice day out, so my husband and younger daughter went to the park for a couple hours while I took care of things around the house. My daughter and I were playing Clue when my phone starting going off. One message after another.. “Did you get the e-mail?”
We got the e-mail. The e-mail that says my 7th grader came in contact with someone who has tested positive. And that she has to be in mandatory quarantine, in her room, for two weeks, and can’t come within 6′ of anyone.
From what I can gather, about half of our 7th graders are in quarantine, so lots of people in our local area are going through the same, including lots of friends.
Since then…
Life has changed.
We offer “room service” for my daughter. Fortunately I had a lot of disposable plates and cutlery from when we entertain. Lots of FaceTiming, phone calls, and texting.
My daughter “celebrated” her 13th birthday on March 19. We left food and presents at her door, FaceTimed. Fortunately, I had purchased some frozen desserts for her birthday, since originally it was going to be a busy Thursday night. She wanted to have a big celebration with her friends, and now she isn’t sure what will happen. Coronavirus in our area hasn’t peaked yet, so things will get worse before it gets better.
We are staying isolated. Check in on your friends and family, even if just a social “visit”!
How do we talk to a neighbor or friend if they stop by? We stand on our porch, they stand at least 6′ away, usually on the lawn or road.
We go on a lot of walks… everyone switches sides of the road as we pass by. Lots of people are going out to hike, but we are being careful and sticking to places that are not busy and have wide trails where people can keep their distance.
I picked up our cat’s medication on Friday. I paid ahead of time, drove to the parking lot, and called the receptionist. She had me give my name and describe my vehicle, and she came out in a mask and gloves and dropped the pill bottle in my hand.
We haven’t panicked, we aren’t panic-buying, but we are well-stocked for the meantime. We are lucky to have the support of friends and neighbors, and are going to be helping others.
It is hard, but we are figuring out our new normal.
I recommend staying social (phone/text/e-mail/etc), coming up with a list of products, getting fresh air (while social distancing), learning new things, using the time for things you usually don’t have time for, spending quality time with your kids.
This psychosis, which is taking place all over the world, is purely and totally senseless. We must try to calm down and perceive and face everything in the clearest way possible. Otherwise we will go crazy.
Thank you for sharing your story and it is a crazy time we are living in. I hav never seen anything like this in my lifetime…. seriously scary but I am staying home…ordering everything that I can online so that I do not even have to go to the store especially because we live in the hot bed…. Long Island NY right outside of NYC. I live with my in laws and we have to be extra careful as it is dangerous for them. Stay healthy and safe and always love visiting your site 🙂
we have to stay positive even though that is not possible right now, hopefully it will get better soon and life will resume. Keep safe.
This new normal is not something I want to get used to, but I do want to make sure I spend the time reprogramming my brain. I feel like we all got lost in the technology and everyday.
Things also get tense over here and when I was doing my usual groceries buying every Saturday morning I noticed that people came out earlier than usual. It was 8 am but the supermarket has already loaded with people. It was not too crowded yet but before Covid 19, people only come out at around 10 am on Saturday morning for groceries. Now, 8 am people have already started to come out for groceries because all wanted to avoid crowds. Luckily our government has imposed rules and educate people not to panic buying so there are still things for everyone. The uncertainty has made everyone worried, our numbers are still below 1k now but we were the first country that was infected after China. Our government is very strict and did the contact tracing one by one and whoever gets related will be quarantined at a designated area (Chalet resort) or at home. If at home, Warrant will be issued, and if violated, a heavy penalty of a fine (USD8k) and jail will be imposed. Government sents out messages through whatpps daily to inform us what happen and inform us the numbers infected daily and the details of the person who get infected but without their names. Where and how they got it, one by one you can learn about it when you click on the link. A special group of investigation group including police was set up for this contact tracing process. I think it works since we were the number 2 country that has infected after China but the number is in control but it is hard to say as the outbreak can happen anytime, just by one super spreader. I don’t know when this will end, maybe until the vaccines come out. Stay united is what I could wish for.
This is really awesome for sharing because it seems our world has turned upside down in a matter of a week it is extremely scary and we still don’t know what to expect
I think this time needs to be one where we show how resilient we are as people and show what we are truly made of. Of course, it’s not easy because our world has been flipped upside down but it does teach us that there are things so much bigger than ourselves. Thanks for this post.