One year ago today I did something normal. I went to dinner with coworkers and then went to a Celtics basketball game. I haven’t done anything like that in the past year and I realized that this marks the first anniversary of my last normal night out. This week will bring more anniversaries such as the last day the girls were in school and the last day going to my office, but we have continued school and work, albeit remotely. Having dinner with a group and attending large events just doesn’t happen and it’s hitting me that it’s been a full year.
I remember much of the discussion at dinner that night was about Covid and the emerging pandemic (although I doubt we were using that word). One person had cancelled a scheduled vacation in Asia, another was questioning a future trip to Europe. We shared news reports from China and Italy and it was clear that this was very serious but it wasn’t clear yet if/when it would affect us. Covid felt removed from our daily lives and we didn’t think twice about getting together for dinner.
I left dinner and met up with other colleagues for a Celtics game (one of the perks of working for a large company is occasionally getting free tickets to games). I remember Jeanne being a little worried about me being at a large event, but I also remember feeling like the risk was low (she was clearly right). The arena was not full, it was clear that some people had stayed away but the game felt normal. I remember thinking that I was glad we could still do something like this even though the news from elsewhere was so scary.
The Celtics played (and beat) the Utah Jazz that night. Five days later two players from the Jazz tested positive for Covid (including Rudy Gobert who made a show of touching all of the reporters microphones which wasn’t as funny after he tested positive) and then the whole league shut down.
We were days away from our world changing, but we didn’t know it. We actively cheered and celebrated a perfectly normal night out in the city. A year later and I still have no idea when nights out like that will be possible again.
Things that went well this week:
- My mom and dad got their second vaccine shots this week and Jeanne’s parents get theirs next week so we are close to having fully-vaccinated grandparents!
- Hannah qualified for the state gymnastics meet in April which will be the first time she competes in person this season. The other meets have been remote with the judges watching on zoom.
- There is a state-wide push for fully in-person schooling for elementary schools starting in April. It’s not clear how our town will accomplish this, but I fully support the move
Things that did not go well:
- Daisy is having elbow surgery later this week to correct a congenital issue where one tibia is too long for the joint. She will be on restricted movement for 3 months which will be very difficult on all of us.
- Texas and other states have removed mask mandates and opened all businesses. Just at the time when we need to stay vigilant for another couple months, these places are throwing caution to the wind and hoping for the best
- The weather has been freezing with highs barely into the 30s. It’s going to warm up soon, but it’s been hard to deal with an unexpected cold spell just when we thought spring was near.
Random happy find from the web:
- I love everything about this setup (except the price). It’s an e-ink display that automatically shows the cover of the New York Times on a digital wall display. What a cool way to change the wall art with informative content
Cute puppy photo of the day:
Life, and All That Surrounds It 