Oh hello there!
The last time I wrote was forever ago. What strange and wild times we live in right now.
Prior to the pandemic--before it hit the United States in earnest, I was thinking about my grad school class, Historical Methods, and grappling with a challenging historiography essay.
I even went abroad to France and Monaco. While packing for the flight, my friend asked me if we should bring masks, but that seemed silly. At JFK airport, I remember thinking that something was going on because all the entrances to the airport were blocked except one, the security line was configured much differently and they were screening passengers differently. A few people were wearing masks in the lines, but again, I thought it was a bit of an over-reaction.
I was anxious about my new grandbaby who was born early and spent some time in the NICU.
I was worried about the flu and nursing two of my sick children, which also prevented me from going to Utah to see my grandbaby.
I was watching the news, but not really understanding how serious it was. It was too far away. It was in other countries. Social distancing/lockdown/self-isolation --whatever just seemed incomprehensible. There had been waves of viruses from Asia- SARS, the Bird Flu, the Swine flu in the past, but none of them seemed to really be a big deal in the end, at least not in the U.S. Memes and articles starting popping up everywhere about washing our hands. The Democrat party was starting to hold primaries to determine the candidate for the 2020 elections. Honestly, I was paying more attention to the elections than the virus.
Then my husband's office sent it's employees home to work. They canceled gatherings. And it started to seem real and urgent. My local school district sent out release forms for fifth graders to bring their laptops home. Westchester County (the county south of mine) had the most cases of any county in the country.
On March 11th, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announced they had both tested positive for the Coronavirus. Games were canceled. The next day, President Trump called for a travel ban between Europe and the United States. Gatherings in New York began to be limited. The phrase social distancing started to be used.
I prepared for our family to social distance and figured that the kids might begin distance learning. Earlier in the month, I filled our big freezer with meat and vegetables because it was pretty empty. It was a regular stock-up. On March 12th, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints suspended all church meetings.
That Thursday, March 12, I thought it would be wise to fill in the gaps in our food storage. Already, people were hoarding toilet paper.
I went to BJs, our local wholesale club with a list. The parking lot was completely full and the store was packed with people. The checkout lines stretched back to the freezer section. I have never seen the store that full, not even with an impending storm.
I filled my cart, navigating around tense shoppers. Few people wore masks or gloves. The mood was anxious and concerned. The toilet paper aisle was completely empty. Many shelves were bare. I waited in line for over an hour to checkout.
I think this was the moment where things started to feel real and serious. But yet, I did not grasp the full import of what was coming.
Where were you or what were you doing when you realized how serious the COVID-19 Pandemic was?
The last time I wrote was forever ago. What strange and wild times we live in right now.
Prior to the pandemic--before it hit the United States in earnest, I was thinking about my grad school class, Historical Methods, and grappling with a challenging historiography essay.
I even went abroad to France and Monaco. While packing for the flight, my friend asked me if we should bring masks, but that seemed silly. At JFK airport, I remember thinking that something was going on because all the entrances to the airport were blocked except one, the security line was configured much differently and they were screening passengers differently. A few people were wearing masks in the lines, but again, I thought it was a bit of an over-reaction.
I was anxious about my new grandbaby who was born early and spent some time in the NICU.
I was worried about the flu and nursing two of my sick children, which also prevented me from going to Utah to see my grandbaby.
I was watching the news, but not really understanding how serious it was. It was too far away. It was in other countries. Social distancing/lockdown/self-isolation --whatever just seemed incomprehensible. There had been waves of viruses from Asia- SARS, the Bird Flu, the Swine flu in the past, but none of them seemed to really be a big deal in the end, at least not in the U.S. Memes and articles starting popping up everywhere about washing our hands. The Democrat party was starting to hold primaries to determine the candidate for the 2020 elections. Honestly, I was paying more attention to the elections than the virus.
On March 11th, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announced they had both tested positive for the Coronavirus. Games were canceled. The next day, President Trump called for a travel ban between Europe and the United States. Gatherings in New York began to be limited. The phrase social distancing started to be used.
I prepared for our family to social distance and figured that the kids might begin distance learning. Earlier in the month, I filled our big freezer with meat and vegetables because it was pretty empty. It was a regular stock-up. On March 12th, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints suspended all church meetings.
That Thursday, March 12, I thought it would be wise to fill in the gaps in our food storage. Already, people were hoarding toilet paper.
I went to BJs, our local wholesale club with a list. The parking lot was completely full and the store was packed with people. The checkout lines stretched back to the freezer section. I have never seen the store that full, not even with an impending storm.
I filled my cart, navigating around tense shoppers. Few people wore masks or gloves. The mood was anxious and concerned. The toilet paper aisle was completely empty. Many shelves were bare. I waited in line for over an hour to checkout.
Where were you or what were you doing when you realized how serious the COVID-19 Pandemic was?
