The world has changed. The closest thing to what we are experiencing is the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918. We are experiencing the Corona Virus and because it's so contagious, the world has pushed pause. Ramifications will be felt for years to come. The stock market has crashed, employees have been sent home unable to work, or to work from home, school children are unable to go to school, airlines and hotels are all closed. This whole experience has a very end of world feel to it.
Earlier this year, we began hearing news stories about a new disease called the corona virus. Passengers on cruise ships were contracting the disease and had to be quarantined for two weeks aboard the ships. At the time, we had no idea that this would be something that affected us at home. Then, the virus began appearing in the United States. On March 12th, Governor Herbert announced a recommendation to limit mass public gatherings in Utah to 100 people. Then, the Church suspended church services worldwide. All day long, there were more updates of things being cancelled: NBA games, the March Madness tournament, and more. The next day, the governor announced that schools would close for two weeks. The virus was not widespread in Utah, but these measures were precautionary.
I was at work and realized that because things were closing down I had better be proactive because it was evident that I would be working from home for a while. I took home my laptop and programed my phone so all calls would forward to my cell. I began working from home. For how long, who knows? It was supposed to be for two weeks, but it will be much longer than that.
Children were told there would be two weeks of home technology learning. We checked out three Chrome Book computers so the three children could follow their teachers' lessons. This also would go on much longer than two weeks, but that was the original plan. When we went to pick up Alyssa's Chrome Book there were lines and nobody could get out of their cars. Teachers met us, asked us to identify Alyssa, and then gave us a computer. It is a crazy world.
School work took our children a couple of hours each day and then they would play with friends for a while in the afternoon. That came to an end as the pandemic took hold. Government leaders encouraged families to be socially distant from others and quarantine at home. The Centers for Disease Control updated recommendations on the 19th, encouraging us to keep all gathering to less than 10 people. Our family stopped playing with friends and even gathering with extended family for Sunday dinners.
With the children in our control 24x7, the children didn't like their teachers or curriculum as much. Jill warned them that she might require more work than their regular teachers. They weren't always happy with her as she required them to redo things (by fixing punctuation and grammar, for example) and complete their best work. She sat with them as they did their work, encouraging and helping them as best she could. As coach, I made them begin running every morning five days a week. We would run almost one mile around our block and the children hated it. They complained every day and were so mad. Finally, I incentivized them to run. Every Friday became Faster Friday. If they could break their record for the 1 mile, I would buy them a Crumbl Cookie. They loved that, but running was still a chore and they would never come to love it.
Event after event was cancelled this spring. Even the Riverton Half Marathon was cancelled, and then changed to a virtual marathon. Runners had to download an app and run the course and time themselves. With the app Strava, I ran the race with Kevin Yeager and Ron Hada for the first half, then I picked up the pace and ran faster by myself. I didn't have the best time, but it was respectable and under 2 hours (1:51).
Pools and recreation centers were closed so we spent some time in the hot tub for a while. It's nice to have that at least to recreate. Restaurants were closed as well, except for drive-thrus. The governor encouraged us to help restaurants stay afloat by visiting them. The kids really liked that advice. Going through a drive-thru for dinner became a big event of our weeks!
Church was also cancelled and everyone was encouraged to hold home church. We accepted the new options and dressed up and worshiped at home. We took turns speaking in Sacrament meeting, the boys blessed and passed the sacrament, we held Primary singing time for Alyssa, and had a Sunday school lesson. We used to show up and attend 2 hours of church. Now we spent the morning preparing for our assignments and church still went almost an hour and a half. We all love home church, though. It's been really great to worship together at home. Logan is getting so good at the piano. Home church has given him a lot of practice as he plays most of our church hymns. It's so fun to have him practice and play. Here is a picture of our family singing Scripture Power in primary (being in charge of singing time is everyone's favorite assignment).
Grocery stores were still open but inventories were very limited. Toilet paper became the currency of choice and no store around could keep it in stock. We had plenty for a while, but our inventory did get a bit lower than we were comfortable with. When we could find it, we had to buy the off brands. Our kids couldn't wait to get Charmin again.
When Coke Zero was limited to two per household, that was the last straw. It was frustrating to go to the store and find that so many things were gone. In addition to toilet paper and Coke Zero, it was also hard to find any sort of cleaning supplies or baking supplies.
It got to the point that one day I went out for a morning run and stopped at the grocery store. I saw our neighbor in line. I waived and ran to the toilet paper aisle. They actually had some, so I took it up to my neighbor to buy it for me and she even delivered it to our house. Later, I paid her back. Like I said, the world is very different.
Just prior to everything closing down, Jill had a nasal surgery scheduled so she would be able to breathe out of both nostrils. It's been years since she could breathe out of both. She finally saw a specialist who discovered that she had a polyp that was blocking her right nostril, as well as a forehead sinus that was blocked. The day of the surgery the doctor told us that it was the last day of elective surgeries. We scheduled it perfectly! Jill didn't want me to take any pictures of her from the surgery, so I can't share any proof of her surgery. It was a success, though, and allowed her to breathe so much better. She came down with a sinus infection after surgery, but once that was cleared up, she felt great. She loved being able to breathe again!
As Jill recovered, I took the children to the sand dunes so we could get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air. We went with the Chandlers but Jill stayed home to rest and recover. The children had a blast riding on the dunes and "catching some sweet air" jumping the ATV's. This was the first time we got out and could use the new ATV we had bought for Christmas. It was so much fun.
