Today I woke up to early morning texts from Kirk and Meki saying that they had just had a big earthquake in SLC! I could barely believe my eyes! I feel so bad for them and for everyone in Utah who are not only dealing with COVID-19 and all of the stress, worry, and ramifications that come with that and to then be dealing with earthquakes too! What is even happening in the world?! It feels very end of times today! The Angel Moroni even lost his horn during the earthquake!
Today it is sunny. Thank goodness. Ailey had to make an appointment to run into the high school office to pick up the last of her study materials. Tyler had to set up an appointment to pickup a bunch of his office equipment from work that he will need for an extended period of time working from home. It is going to be much longer than the original two weeks. His appointment was scheduled for 7 pm. I am glad that the schools and his office are taking social distancing seriously. Bryn's piano lessons are cancelled.
The governor said groups larger than 10 can't meet now. The border to Canada closed. We live about three and a half hours from the Canadian Border. Hospitals have stopped admitting visitors. The only exceptions are end of life or childbirth. Then one visitor can be there.
Today was another hard day. I got a little panicky tonight when Tyler and I drove to his office. I am usually okay but sometimes it will just hit me hard. I think worrying about family in SLC kind of kicked it up a notch today.
Day 6 : 3-19-20 (Thursday)
Today is sunny and warm. The sunshine is saving my life right now. I cannot deal with cold and gray. Tyler woke up with a bit of a cough. What has always been concerning with his health has now become extra scary. He doesn't have a fever. It seems more like he may be coming down with a cold like the girls have had. We told Kameron today that he can't see Abbey for awhile. That wasn't a fun conversation. *sigh* My brother texted us that they have had over 107 aftershocks since Monday and one more pretty good sized earthquake. I think he said it was around a 4.6 We heard that missionaries in several countries are all being sent home.
Tyler had an interesting conversation with our neighbor today. Dan is ex-military and another one of our neighbors who is currently in the military, and another neighbor on the other side of Dan; were busy this morning installing cameras and flood lights to their properties. Serious security upgrades to all of their homes. Dan came over to see how we were doing and if we needed anything. He is a big prepper. He and Tyler talked about precautions that people in the military are taking and feeling that it may be necessary. He asked Tyler if he was armed? Are we already to this point? My military neighbors think that we are and are preparing for it. I talked to my brother and he thinks that we probably are too. Sobering.
Kameron had to work so later that afternoon Tyler and the girls and I went out to the lake. We needed to disconnect part of the fence so that the tree removal service can drop some of the big cottonwood trees into the lake to take them down and then pull them onto the beach.
The day was so beautiful. It felt so good to be outside and doing some work. It was good for the girls to have a "field trip".
 |
| Tyler removing a portion of the fence. |
 |
| School Field Trip :) |
We cut some wood from some of the downed limbs and brought it home. The girls took Beverly for several walks and Bryn had to do some school work and upload it to her class dojo. Her teacher is trying to keep her 5th grade class connected socially by doing some competitions like house of card building and lego competitions in addition to school work. Bev got in on the action.
We got Chinese food to go on our way home. We are trying to keep our favorite little Chinese restaurant by the lake in business. Working outside and being at the lake was good for all of our mental and physical health.
Day 7: 3-20-20 (Friday)
Today is sunny and warm. Tyler definitely has a cold. Runny nose, head congestion, but no fever. I am sure that he got it from Ailey and Bryn. You would think that Bryn would bring home the most illnesses from elementary school but it really comes from the high school. Ugh.
I decided to try to do some grocery shopping. We are stocked up on our nonperishable foods but I am trying to plan out regular meals every two weeks without having to use our nonperishable foods in case we need them later on. I decided to venture to Costco but I was not stepping foot into Walmart. I got online to place a pick up order and saw that they were offering free delivery for the next 15 days. I scheduled that and attempted to place an online order. That was a nightmare. So much was sold out and trying to put together some simple fresh meals from what was still available in the stores was *interesting*. Our groceries are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. I'm not sure what will actually arrive. Also apparently the fraud department of Chase Bank is working overtime for online groceries or something. I went to pay for my order and my card was declined saying the security number was wrong. It wasn't. I tried Tyler's debit card and the same thing happened. Then we both got emails from the fraud department at Chase asking if we could verify this purchase. I had to click the link saying that "Yes" it was me and was told to retry my payment in 5 minutes. That still didn't work. It took more like 30 minutes for it to work which was irritating.
Then I headed to Costco. This was only part of the long line that awaited me. This is the first time that I have seen a line at our local Costco. It wrapped all around the building. Only so many people can be in the building at one time. As one person came out another person could go in. Costco workers were spraying down the carts with a big sprayer of disinfectant. Also disturbing but appreciated. I thought people might be rude and grabby trying to get the things that they need after reading so many things about that online. I am happy to report that everyone (shoppers and employees) at our Costco were EXTRA kind and considerate. That made my day!
I got what I could and then was very happy to return home. The IRS announced today that Tax Day has been pushed back. This doesn't really affect us since we already did our personal taxes and our trust paid our trust taxes and my mom's 2019 taxes. Hopefully it helps others. The city closed all park and school playgrounds. They have all been taped off with caution tape. I've been watching parents bring kids to the park and letting them play on park equipment with huge groups of kids. I am incredulous. But then I am the mom who made my kids all use hand sanitizer after playing on park equipment since 1996. Ailey, Bryn, Beverly, and I went for a long walk today. The only thing that helps me to feel normal are my daily walks. I cherish them. They are the highlight of my day.
Bryn found out that Spring sports were cancelled today. No track for her this year. She was super disappointed but she knew that it was probably coming. Tonight was a hard night for Bryn. She is a pretty positive kiddo but tonight she came into our room in tears, worried about life, and the future. Trying to reassure our kids that things will be normal again...sometime in the future...is difficult. They want to know how long this is going to last and we have no answers. It is hard enough for us as adults to wrap our minds around this coronavirus situation. Let alone kids. We are telling our kids (and ourselves) to just take it one day at a time. Each day that we are in quarantine is one day that we are closer to being out of it and that "Now" is not "forever".
Day 8: 3-21-20 (Saturday)
We made it through a week of quarantine!! That is something to celebrate! Like I said above. One week down is one week closer to getting out of quarantine! Today was sunny and warm. Hallelujah. Please keep the nice weather coming.
I had a clandestine hair appointment. We don't know how long this quarantine is going to last and I had hair extensions on their last leg. My friend and hair stylist works for herself. She has a little room with one chair as her salon. She also is single and lives alone. I felt okay about keeping my appointment, Tyler did too, and so did she. After not seeing friends for so long it was fun to laugh and catch up with her while she refreshed my hair.
I had groceries delivered to our house for the first time and it was pretty great! There were a ton of substitutions and some things that Walmart said were in stock but then weren't...still though... having someone shop for them, bag them, drive them to our house, and deposit them on our porch was pretty fabulous!
The girls and I did our three mile walk with Beverly at the park. Today the first day that I didn't need to wear any kind of a coat! That is noteworthy for sure. Tyler grilled out on the deck and we tried to make Saturday fun! We had lots of texts from Kirk and Meki. Our texting thread of Kirk and Meki and Tyler and me and our ongoing conversation that goes all day long is another thing that keeps me sane! It makes life not just bearable but enjoyable! The four of us chat all day and on into the night. It is so comforting and usually pretty hilarious. It's also a good place to vent and to have instant support. I am also grateful for texts/phone calls/facetimes from Reilly, cousins, and friends. It really does make this situation infinitely more bearable when you feel connected to people.
Kameron had a hard night when he got home from work. It is rough being separated from your girlfriend when you are 19. I feel for him. I really do. We also heard that WA might be in lockdown/shelter in place by Monday. And...Kenny Rogers died. Say it ain't so!
Day 9: 3-22-20 (Sunday)
Today I had a virtual ward council meeting via video conferencing. What a blessing video conferencing is! We are using it for so many things! Even when life gets back to normal I think I would PREFER ward council to continue to meet virtually rather than our normal 7 am meeting! Ha ha! It did me so much good to *see* friends and to feel like part of something as we discussed how to meet the needs of our ward during these challenging times.
Home church went well! Sundays are kind of a nice change from our daily routine and days that blend into one another. Tyler played worship music all morning and then we did pretty much the same thing that we did last Sunday. Tyler and Kameron blessed the Sacrament. Bryn was in charge of picking the hymns. Ailey taught the Come Follow Me lesson. We had a family meeting afterwards. We talked about how we can serve people while being in a quarantine situation. The Bishop challenged us to contact at least 5 people each Sunday. Everyone is starving for connection. Everyone wants to know that people care about them and are thinking of them. That is our goal as a ward going forward for the next two weeks is to help those around us feel connected. He then challenged us to make sure that our families are reaching out to others daily and finding ways to serve and uplift even from quarantine.
Our family discussed ways that we could reach out and serve. Today happened to be "Chalk the Walk" Day. A day to write encouraging quotes and pictures on your driveway and sidewalks. The girls decorated ours and then went and wrote personal messages on several of our neighbors driveways about how much we love them. I heard back from every single one of them about how much such a simple thing meant to them.
Here are a few of the ones in front of our house:
An unexpected blessing from quarantine is remembering that it is the little things that truly matter. A text, a phone call with a friend, a note in chalk, laughing as a family, Sunday dinners, going on walks, snuggling and reading a book with kids, family prayer, walking the dog, homemade bread, everyone piled on our bed talking, facetimeing with Reilly and Hunter ...it really is the little everyday things that matter.
These days I am especially grateful for my faith in Jesus Christ. I truly don't know how I would survive without it...in good times and in bad. In quarantine and without. I am so grateful for Him.
From the hymn Jesus, Lover of My Soul.
0 comments:
Post a Comment