One year ago, at the end of my work day, I packed up my laptop, my keyboard, my mouse and my docking station and headed out of the office with a care package from my company. The care package included some wipes and hand sanitizer.
I decided that night driving home, I wasn't sending my kids to school the next day.
I was thinking of my cousin, Jeff, who had died in Hong Kong in early February, of what was thought to be pneumonia.
Here is a post from last year.
I remember getting home on March 12 and finding out the kids would NOT be going to school for two weeks.
I remember stopping at the grocery store for a few more things (where I saw people with carts piled high with toilet paper). I remember thinking how does a pneumonia type illness require rolls of TP? I remember thinking to buy shelf stable milk, because how was I going to eat cereal without milk.
I remember getting home and thinking about where to set up my home office. Adam had already set up shop in our dining room. I pulled out our folding bridge table, and got to work. Step 1 of home office. Set up table and docking station.
I remember on March 13 that after sitting on a wooden, kitchen chair for the day, I was going to have to get smarter about sitting.
Little did I realize that day 1 and day 365 were going to look similar. Working from home for a year. Eating as a family for a year. No guests into our home.
A week into the pandemic, I wrote this post. Little did I know that my BCC fellow parent and carpooling parent was going to become the CDC director. I trusted Rochelle. Our boys sang together at BCC, and I had told her how nervous I was in April 2017 of letting Mark fly to London with BCC. She really listened and offered her own advice. And in March, 2020, she was talking to BCC kids about a pandemic. She talked to Temple Emanuel of Newton about the pandemic. She talked to the Mayor of Newton and the Gov. of Massachusetts. Later, she spoke to President Elect Biden. The world and the US is lucky to have Rochelle.
March 20, 2020 I wrote this post.
Things I have learned during the year.
Science is real. Science changes and you need to be flexible.
People are people. Cherish community.
Reach out to friends. Have people over on your lawn.
Support local business.
Enjoy your family.
Try new things.
Be a good community member.
Wash your hands. Wear a mask.
Text friends and family.
Call friends and family.
Don't forget to vote.
Speak up when you see injustice.
Help the community.
