Day 365 – One year of pandemic

For us, the pandemic started on March 13th. Unlike 9/11 or Pearl Harbor or other national events, there is no one day that started it all. But for us Friday, March 13, 2020 (of course it was a Friday the 13th) was the first day the girls were home from school and I was home from work. My first blog posts from those days started at day 0 and continued to number the days for the first months. It’s been interesting to look back at some of those to get a sense of what I was thinking and sharing in the early days. Our understanding of Covid has come so far in the past year and while the end is in sight (at least in the United States), it’s also clear that we as a nation could have done so much better than we did.

As I look back the past 365 days, the obvious big-picture topics come to mind first – Covid, lockdowns, Black Lives Matter movement, the election, the Capitol riot. But for us, and I assume for many people, it’s the little things closer to home that affected us on a day-to-day basis. We were so privileged and fortunate to maintain our health, our jobs, and our (virtual) connections to family and friends. Knowing that so many suffered so much, it can be hard to take a moment to focus on the mundane. But as the world (slowly) moves back to normal, it’s the daily life that matters and that we celebrate.

Assorted Highlights (in no particular order)

• Photo screensaver – we have spent so much time in our living room and being able to watch family photos and videos on the TV has been a fun way to bring back memories and stories
• Girls Den – Caroline and her friends have shown me how to make the best of the situation and we have loved to see how resilient they are
• Fall Soccer season – I didn’t realize how much I had missed coaching soccer and the kids impressed me by being able to play with masks and without complaint
• Racial equity awareness – we have all become so much more aware of how much work white Americans have to do to come to terms with the racial inequity and it’s been a highlight be on the journey with so many others
• Learning to ride a bike – it’s hard to remember but it was only a year ago that Caroline learned to ride a bike; now she and her friends zoom around the neighborhood every afternoon
• Roblox – The first video game that Caroline got into was also her first foray into online communication. It opened her eyes to the fun of playing games with friends, even when they can’t be together
• Among Us – Hannah and her friends spent countless hours in the virtual world of Among Us which allowed them to stay connected
• Nintendo Switch – Our video gaming got an upgrade and we spent many evenings playing family games of Mario Bros
• Ticket to Ride – the board game that has dominated our table for the past months remains a favorite

Lowlights

• Car towed – Illegally parking in Cambridge is not recommended
• Plumbing issue – Twice we had to urgently call plumbers to fix issues with the shower and the sump pump
• Ankle and wrist injuries (and elbow) – our family has not had a good orthopedic year between Caroline’s wrist, Caroline’s foot, Hannah’s ankle, Jeanne’s wrists, and now Daisy’s elbow. I’m treading carefully to not be next
• Tree falling – The massive tree in our front yard that fell in April made it feel like the sky was falling
• Daisy’s haircut – when she had a skin infection and they had to shave her neck she looked ridiculous
• The pandemic – 500,000+ deaths nationally and 2.6million globally makes our little troubles seem as insignificant as they are

Things that went well this week:

• The town announced the girls’ schools will be in-person full-time, 5 days a week in April (Caroline early in the month and Hannah later in the month)
• I got my taxes done today so check that off the list
• Jeanne got her 2nd vaccine dose so she is fully vaccinated!

Things that did not go well:

• Daisy has months of recovery after her elbow surgery. We’re supposed to keep her off her leg as much as possible, which involves carrying her up and down the stairs
• The warm days on Thursday and Friday were amazing, but forecasts in the 30s in the coming days is discouraging (although nothing like the snowstorm from March 13, 2018)
• Speaking of snow, Caroline and her friends made a batch of instant snow and made a huge mess – fortunately they only hang out outside so it was contained to the driveway and yard

Random happy find from the web:

• The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has acquired the vial that contained the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine administered in the United States as part of its plans to document the global pandemic and “this extraordinary period we were going through.”

Cute puppy photo of the day:

With a cone, shaved legs, a bandage and a bootie, she looks pretty ridiculous

Block image courtesy of Shutterstock