How we are Dealing with COVID-19
It started about a month and a half ago, but who knows when it will end.
All church meetings and activities were cancelled. Temples were closed. General Conference was viewed in person by only those speaking or otherwise participating; all others had to watch the broadcasts. Missionaries in foreign countries were sent home, and those serving in their native countries learned to do missionary work using social media, smart phones and other electronic means. A program called Zoom is now used for seminary three days a week (they have online assignments the other two days), weekly youth activities, and bi-weekly Sunday School classes. Our primary chorister records herself teaching singing time for the primary kids and sends links to the video each Sunday morning. As a Relief Society we have made and donated over 900 masks.
Schools were closed for the remainder of the school year and students are doing "remote learning" where they are given assignments on Monday which are due Friday, and teachers have "office hours" when students who are brave enough can contact them via email or chat when they need help. We have been assured that remote learning won't lower grades from what they were before remote learning began, but the boys are finding it a challenge to raise grades that were low to begin with. All school activities - plays, sports, prom, graduation ceremonies - have been cancelled or rescheduled or changed to a format that can be done online.
Businesses throughout the country and world have been closed. Those who can work from home have been strongly encouraged to do so. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who can't work from home. Unemployment is the highest it has ever been since the great depression. Rallies and protests have been held fighting the government restrictions keeping people from working and earning money to support themselves. Meanwhile people who are allowed to continue working - those who work in meat packing facilities for example, are getting sick and the supply of meat has been cut drastically leading to meat shortages. Shelves of cleaning supplies that were emptied in the first panic still remain empty.
We have been ordered to stay at home, except for when absolutely necessary like to acquire food, or to get exercise. For people struggling with cabin fever, this has been a challenge. Excuses have been found to go to the Walmart a few times a week, just to get out of the house, and maybe pick up some supplies as long as we are out. Many more people are seen walking, jogging or riding bikes around the neighborhood.
As of a couple days ago in Colorado alone, there were about 18,000 documented cases (but because of limited testing, that number is most likely much higher). Almost 3000 people have been hospitalized. And about 920 people have died. 75 of those are in the county where we live. At least one of our next door neighbors has tested positive for the disease.
So what does this mean for our family?
Steven worked at home for a month, but last week he chose to return to working at the office. He has enjoyed riding his bike to and from work. I think the number of people coming into the office has averaged around five, and Steven's personal office is near the front door so he doesn't come into contact with a lot of other people. He has a mask that he can wear when absolutely necessary, but he prefers not to wear one if at all possible. His general feeling seems to be that this is much ado about nothing.
Hannah has begun online classes at BYU-I, which has helped with her ever increasing cabin fever. Almost every day she is looking to go on an adventure to get out of the house and do something. When not adventuring or studying, she has been working on creating a paper-mache dragon which will be incredible when it is finished. She has also enjoyed cooking some Brazilian cuisine for the family.
John has decided to wait a year before returning to his mission. Hopefully by then the COVID-19 scare will have subsided. He has communicated with Colorado School of Mines and is planning on attending school there in the fall. I think of everyone in the family, he is the most disconnected, without things that he needs to be doing. He attended a daily on-line institute class for a while, but that ended last week. Job opportunities that he is interested in are hard to come by right now. He spends a lot of time playing Minecraft or writing computer programs. I think he was trying to create a compositor (or something like that?) a while back before it accidentally got deleted.
Now that the weather has warmed up a little, Joshua has chosen to move to the back patio, where he sleeps in a sleeping bag on a cot. He made a table from the wood from some old pallets that he got from a friend and uses that as a desk when he does his school work. There may be fewer distractions from the rest of the family out there, but I think that he is still distracted a lot by Minecraft and other activities. He comes inside for food and things, but other than that I rarely see him.
Peter spends several hours a day working on school and seminary, when he isn't creating or looking at memes or playing Balloon Tower Defense 5 or Minecraft. When his time on the computer has run out, he generally takes a nap, or plays Pokemon on his Nintendo or watches a movie, or is just bored.
And then there is me. I've always been a homebody, so staying at home isn't terribly hard. I clean and cook and do laundry. I try to help Peter stay focused on his school work, with limited success. I made close to 100 masks for the Relief Society. While e-book isn't my favorite format, I'm grateful that our local library has the means for me to find new books to read. I recently discovered a new series of mysteries (Charles Todd's Inspector Rutledge Mysteries) that I'm really enjoying. I usually solve an Einstein's Riddle logic puzzle every day, and I try to take a walk every day to get out of the house for a while. I enjoy having my family around me but it does feel a bit crowded occasionally.
A couple other events of note have taken place, but I'll write about them another time. For now, this is where we are. Someday maybe a grandkid will ask what it was like during this time period, and I'll have something to look back on to remember.
All church meetings and activities were cancelled. Temples were closed. General Conference was viewed in person by only those speaking or otherwise participating; all others had to watch the broadcasts. Missionaries in foreign countries were sent home, and those serving in their native countries learned to do missionary work using social media, smart phones and other electronic means. A program called Zoom is now used for seminary three days a week (they have online assignments the other two days), weekly youth activities, and bi-weekly Sunday School classes. Our primary chorister records herself teaching singing time for the primary kids and sends links to the video each Sunday morning. As a Relief Society we have made and donated over 900 masks.
Schools were closed for the remainder of the school year and students are doing "remote learning" where they are given assignments on Monday which are due Friday, and teachers have "office hours" when students who are brave enough can contact them via email or chat when they need help. We have been assured that remote learning won't lower grades from what they were before remote learning began, but the boys are finding it a challenge to raise grades that were low to begin with. All school activities - plays, sports, prom, graduation ceremonies - have been cancelled or rescheduled or changed to a format that can be done online.
Businesses throughout the country and world have been closed. Those who can work from home have been strongly encouraged to do so. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who can't work from home. Unemployment is the highest it has ever been since the great depression. Rallies and protests have been held fighting the government restrictions keeping people from working and earning money to support themselves. Meanwhile people who are allowed to continue working - those who work in meat packing facilities for example, are getting sick and the supply of meat has been cut drastically leading to meat shortages. Shelves of cleaning supplies that were emptied in the first panic still remain empty.
We have been ordered to stay at home, except for when absolutely necessary like to acquire food, or to get exercise. For people struggling with cabin fever, this has been a challenge. Excuses have been found to go to the Walmart a few times a week, just to get out of the house, and maybe pick up some supplies as long as we are out. Many more people are seen walking, jogging or riding bikes around the neighborhood.
As of a couple days ago in Colorado alone, there were about 18,000 documented cases (but because of limited testing, that number is most likely much higher). Almost 3000 people have been hospitalized. And about 920 people have died. 75 of those are in the county where we live. At least one of our next door neighbors has tested positive for the disease.
So what does this mean for our family?
Steven worked at home for a month, but last week he chose to return to working at the office. He has enjoyed riding his bike to and from work. I think the number of people coming into the office has averaged around five, and Steven's personal office is near the front door so he doesn't come into contact with a lot of other people. He has a mask that he can wear when absolutely necessary, but he prefers not to wear one if at all possible. His general feeling seems to be that this is much ado about nothing.
Hannah has begun online classes at BYU-I, which has helped with her ever increasing cabin fever. Almost every day she is looking to go on an adventure to get out of the house and do something. When not adventuring or studying, she has been working on creating a paper-mache dragon which will be incredible when it is finished. She has also enjoyed cooking some Brazilian cuisine for the family.
John has decided to wait a year before returning to his mission. Hopefully by then the COVID-19 scare will have subsided. He has communicated with Colorado School of Mines and is planning on attending school there in the fall. I think of everyone in the family, he is the most disconnected, without things that he needs to be doing. He attended a daily on-line institute class for a while, but that ended last week. Job opportunities that he is interested in are hard to come by right now. He spends a lot of time playing Minecraft or writing computer programs. I think he was trying to create a compositor (or something like that?) a while back before it accidentally got deleted.
Now that the weather has warmed up a little, Joshua has chosen to move to the back patio, where he sleeps in a sleeping bag on a cot. He made a table from the wood from some old pallets that he got from a friend and uses that as a desk when he does his school work. There may be fewer distractions from the rest of the family out there, but I think that he is still distracted a lot by Minecraft and other activities. He comes inside for food and things, but other than that I rarely see him.
Peter spends several hours a day working on school and seminary, when he isn't creating or looking at memes or playing Balloon Tower Defense 5 or Minecraft. When his time on the computer has run out, he generally takes a nap, or plays Pokemon on his Nintendo or watches a movie, or is just bored.
And then there is me. I've always been a homebody, so staying at home isn't terribly hard. I clean and cook and do laundry. I try to help Peter stay focused on his school work, with limited success. I made close to 100 masks for the Relief Society. While e-book isn't my favorite format, I'm grateful that our local library has the means for me to find new books to read. I recently discovered a new series of mysteries (Charles Todd's Inspector Rutledge Mysteries) that I'm really enjoying. I usually solve an Einstein's Riddle logic puzzle every day, and I try to take a walk every day to get out of the house for a while. I enjoy having my family around me but it does feel a bit crowded occasionally.
A couple other events of note have taken place, but I'll write about them another time. For now, this is where we are. Someday maybe a grandkid will ask what it was like during this time period, and I'll have something to look back on to remember.
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