Let’s recap over the last week.
The world as we know it fell apart within a matter of days with the Coronavirus. It started small. At first a couple of school events were postponed, the start of spring sports put off. We started hearing more and more about the virus. Last Friday, our local school district cancelled school for the following Monday so that teachers could prepare for the possibility of “remote learning.”
Two days later, Sunday, one week ago today, the governor of NH closed ALL schools for three weeks. What?? Now I am home with my high school senior who is grieving her senior year and all of the activities that are supposed to come with it. I am trying to get her to stay upbeat and focused while we proceed with this remote learning and learn how to navigate our new way of living.
The news is somber on every single station and social media platform. We are being blasted with the number of people infected, the widespread panic, the empty shelves at the stores, the lack of toilet paper (I still don’t get this one). Everyone is focused on the LACK, the BAD, the NEGATIVE. We are, all of us, struggling right now. It is so important that we remember that. It is not one person, or one family, or one town, city or state. It is affecting the entire world. All. Of. Us. In many different ways and many different scenarios.
Yes, these are uncertain times. We don’t know how long this will go on or what the outcome will be or how it will affect us. I don’t know about you but this was a difficult week. I’ve struggled with my daughter on a daily basis. I’ve worried about my brand new business and the fact that as of January 1st, I became self-employed. I have new tenants moving into my rental next week, I’ve been trying not to think about the financial difficulties that could potentially happen there. All of this, and I am continually telling myself that “it will all be fine. It will all work out.” I’m just throwing it up to God and the Universe.
Here are some positive things that I have noticed this past week, especially in the last couple of days. Sam and I have made progress with our new daily routine. We’ve been taking the dogs on daily walks, we watch funny videos and laugh. Yesterday we cleaned and rearranged her room (with no arguing or push back, and she actually thanked me for helping her)! Last night we played cards after dinner.
A few nights ago, I FaceTimed with a friend who I haven’t spoken to in months. We are both always so busy. But with this downtime, we were able to reconnect. I sent her a quick text just to check in and the next thing you know we are belly laughing with each other on video. So many options available to us; FaceTime, Skype, Google Hangouts. Social distancing does not have to mean isolation.
With school cancelled and most people not working, or working from home, I’ve noticed families outside working in their yards, kids outside playing. The bike path in town yesterday was so busy, with people walking their dogs, kids on bikes and skateboards. We took a trip to Home Depot to pick up a couple of things. They may have been having a sale on paint, there were so many people there! Suddenly we have time to complete those projects we have been putting off.
One week down (really, only a week). Was it difficult? Yes. Was it a huge adjustment? Absolutely. Did we make it through the week? Um, that’s a big fat YES. So let’s try to focus on the positive and keep lifting each other up, people!
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