Friday, March 13, 2020 was the first day of the COVID-19 shut down. No more work, no more school. Statewide shelter-in-place advisory to "flatten the curve". The news was terrifying, the weather was bad, and except for essential workers and the occasional grocery trip, we were all to go home and stay there. No shopping, no restaurants, no commuting, no events, no sports, nothing in person. Jason and I commenced working from home and then a week or two later, the Natick schools managed to get an online program together. It was strange, scary, and surreal.
I haven't quite known how to document everything. The weeks have ticked by and once we hit Saturday, June 13, 2020, I was like omg. The three month mark. Although Massachusetts has begun to re-open, the virus is not gone (and in fact, case numbers are surging in half of US states that are behind us on the timeline) and we are basically still home. We don't even know what "normal" means anymore. You can't go out without a mask, you can't come within 6 feet of anyone in public, and we are all anxiously awaiting the decisions about school in the fall.
There have been a lot of ups and downs in the community as a whole. In the beginning, fear. And hostility towards people who were perceived as not "following the rules". Despair, at being in our homes day after day, and watching one thing after another be cancelled. But then, hope and solidarity. This affects every.single.person. We united in that fact and the collective efforts to stop the spread. In Massachusetts, I can tentatively say, it seems to be working.
The COVID-19 pandemic will be a historical time and I suspect what we've experienced so far is only the beginning. Disruptions and lockdowns will persist into next year. And keeping with this blog's purpose, I'd like to keep track of this time in our lives, this completely unprecedented time in our lives, so my goal for the next posts will be Months 1, 2, and 3. Come along for the ride!
