The Best Six Weeks of Quarantine, EVER

We just finished 6 wonderful "stay home-stay healthy" weeks. Yes, we are still under the stay home order and that doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon (which is sad and frustrating), but the last 6 weeks were delightful. But I need to tell you what happened on September 10, 2019 and then on March 5, 2020 for you to understand why these last 6 weeks were so special.

On September 10th, David and I became known as Papa and Nonni and we welcomed sweet little Alice into the world (well, we weren't exactly there at the time she was born, but we met her shortly thereafter)

We had the best time getting to know Alice and helping Katelyn and Michael adjust to parenthood. Unfortunately, our time with them was way too short and before we knew it, it was time to head back to Spokane and leave them in Logan. Of course, we were grateful for technology and enjoyed FaceTiming and Marco Poloing, but nothing is as good as being with them in person.

Then on March 5th, Katelyn called and said she needed to come home for awhile. There were some problems in her marriage and she needed some time and space away from Logan. So David and I headed to Logan that weekend and picked up our sweet Kate and little Alice Babes.

I used to think that once the children were grown and independent, having them return to the home would be less than ideal. Looking back on that, I realize how selfish that thinking was. In fact, having Katelyn and Alice living with us for six weeks felt just about perfect--like the little family David and I have created was complete once again (because Carson had also returned from Mobile during this time).

You would think that being on lock down would have created some tension (and I suppose if I'm honest I would have to say that there were occasional moments of strife), but Alice brought so much joy to the house. Even Kid loved having Alice around (so many toys to choose from and extra treats to lick up. LOL). We had time for lots of baby snuggles, family walks outside, and having Alice attend virtual work meeting with us. Carson loved making her giggle and Alice loved letting Uncle Carson make her giggle. She was so much fun to get out of her crib after a nap because she woke up happy and always had the biggest grin when someone went to get her out of her crib.

And now, Alice, her mama and her daddy are reunited and living in their own apartment. The apartment is only a couple of miles from our house and we are still helping with child care, but it's not quite the same. The day after Katelyn and Alice moved into the new apartment, Carson said it felt like there was a black cloud hanging over our house. We've rebounded (because of several Alice/Kate visits), but it still isn't quite the same. We are so grateful for the past 6 weeks and the opportunity we had to spend time with Alice and Kate.

The Time the Stores Ran Out of Toilet Paper!

Not only were stores out of toilet paper, they were out of rice, beans, eggs, milk, flour, bread, cereal, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes. Oh yeah and this also happened...

• Schools were closed
• Non-essential businesses were closed
• Churches were closed
• Temples were closed
• Missionaries serving abroad were called home
• Hospitals ran out of PPE and respirators
• Races were canceled or postponed, including the Boston Marathon
• Some national parks were closed
• Theme parks like Disneyland and DisneyWorld were closed
• Hunting and fishing seasons were delayed or closed
• People were told to stay home and limit contact with people
• There were no large gatherings. No celebrations. No weddings (although some places did allow funerals).
• If you went out in public, it was recommended that you wear a mask
• Some states monitored your entry by having you fill out a travel declaration
• Airlines canceled flights

What in the world caused such a disruption to "normal"? A virus called the Novel Coronavirus (COVID 19). It was first noticed in China late in 2019 (I think it was November). But China, being China, hid the infection from the world, under-reported their numbers of affected, and tried haphazardly to contain it. It wasn't long before the virus migrated out of China into other parts of the world. It took the governments of the WHO about 2 1/2 months before they finally said that COVID 19 had reached a pandemic level. And then everything shut down.

COVID-19 hit the elderly and immunocompromised hard! Those populations got very, very sick and overwhelmed the health care systems. In Italy it got so bad that they started rationing health care in such a way that if you were elderly and very sick with COVID-19, you were treated with paliative measures only. In the United States, our hospitals didn't ration care, but they did ration tests and PPE for health care workers. It was a scary time for a lot of people.

So what did it look like to be infected with COVID-19? Well, that's the hard part and what made this social distancing so frustrating. For some, there were high fevers, compromised lung function, kidney failure, cough. For others, it was like having the flu with body aches, fever, and cough. And yet others were completely asymptomatic. For those that did have symptoms, they were sick for about 14 days.

Of course the media didn't help the situation at all. Always one for grandstanding, they highlighted the cases and deaths, but didn't really talk much about the numbers of people whose tests came back negative or who recovered. It was hard to maintain a sense of perspective and not get caught up in the hype. It was also hard to feel like our economy will ever recover from this shutdown. Currently, 10% of the United States' population is unemployed! Even with the $3 TRILLION stimulus package that was passed (completely with small business loans, bailouts for the airline industries, and checks for people making less the $75k or $200k depending on filing status), people are hurting and our economy is at a standstill. Plus, how in the world will we ever be able to repay $3 trillion?

I feel like this was God's way of sending us a practice drill before the Second Coming. It allowed us to see where the holes where in many different systems. It gave families more time to reconnect without all of the distractions. It helped identify what was essential and what could be lived without (apparently, TP is essential). It gave us all an opportunity to live with more grace and understanding for each other. For many people of faith, it was a time to remember that God is in charge and that He knows His people and he will not leave them comfortless. It was also a time when people remembered God and cried out to Him for healing and relief from this pandemic.

We are quite through this yet. We are still on lockdown until May 4th and even then it is uncertain of how many things will be able to open. But I know that we will get through this and hopefully changed for the better because of the lessons we learned during this time.