I haven't blogged in awhile but this seems like a good time to update. As I write this, we've been sheltering in place for over 12 4 months now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What we're going through now is unlike anything within living memory, and someday it will be interesting to go back and remember what it was like. I imagine Daniel and Rebecca telling their own kids and grandkids about this time. I'm actually finding it pretty interesting to go back and look at this and seeing how things have changed over just a few months.
As I begin get back to this on April 21 May 15 July 20, the US death toll exceeds 44,000 (177,000 worldwide) 87,000 (307,000 worldwide) 140,000 (600,000 worldwide) and both Dallas County and Texas are under some manner of shelter in place order Texas was under shelter in place until end of May, while Dallas remains under SIP until at least May 20 reopened in May, with the predictable elevation in case rate that followed. There's not an end date yet in sight, and even once things relax some, we don't expect to return to a true "normal" for at least another year, as it'll likely be at least that long before there's a vaccine.
Our last days of normal life before
For our family, March began as a normal month. March 5-6, I had the 2nd annual North Texas Probate Bench Bar CLE conference at the Gaylord Texan. Several hundred attorneys packed shoulder to shoulder in a conference room with no concern. Coronavirus was in the news but it was still something off in the distance, so we could joke about the hand sanitizer swag the sponsors were handing out. Little did we know that hand sanitizer would soon become hard to find.
March 6 was a Friday and Daniel and Rebecca had a noon dismissal to begin their spring break. A few hours later we were on our way to Orlando for our family's first trip to Universal/Disney World with my parents. We didn't know it then, but that would be their last in-person day of school for at least the 19-20 school year.
That Saturday, after braving the crowds to enjoy the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we capped off our first day at Universal with a Mardi Gras parade. Sunday evening we transferred to the Boardwalk Hotel to begin the Disney World portion of our trip and Monday morning came early as we rope dropped Hollywood Studios park. We stood in a 2 hour line to ride the brand-new Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway ride that had opened just the week before and managed to score boarding passes for the hottest ride in the park, Rise of the Resistance. Over the next days, we enjoyed Epcot and Magic Kingdom too, and at some point, I'll try to write a more detailed post about that. For now, it's just surreal to think about that week in the crowds compared to what has followed.
Our trip as scheduled called for us to fly home late Saturday night so we could rest up before returning to work and school on the 16th. But that week in Florida felt like we were living in one universe and reading about coronavirus in another parallel universe. As the week progressed though, those worlds came closer and closer. That Wednesday the virus was declared a pandemic, March Madness was closed to fans, the NBA postponed its season, and Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announced they'd tested positive.
Thursday at lunch, we began talking seriously about cutting the trip short and planning ahead in case domestic flights were cancelled. By dinner, we'd made the decision to leave the next morning and for my parents to rent a car to drive home rather than flying. That night we watched the Epcot fireworks show on what we now knew was our last night. Right after the show, I saw the alert on my phone that Disney World had announced it would close, following Disneyland's announcement a few hours earlier.
Friday morning felt gloomy as we checked out and headed to the airport. Logically, I knew leaving early was the right call but part of me wondered if it was overkill; what would two more days hurt after all the crowds we'd already been in all week? Rebecca was heartbroken about missing out on Animal Kingdom.
If our time in Florida had been like being in a bubble away from it all, just with a little more hand sanitizer, I was abruptly jerked back into the real world when I ventured to our neighborhood Kroger the day we got home. It was crowded, many shelves were bare, and everyone wore grim faces. Out of the bubble, into the apocalypse, it seemed. Disney World felt like a world away now.
When we'd landed in Dallas, we got an email from the school advising that school would be closed for the next week. Dallas County wasn't requiring businesses to close but Kevin and I had decided we'd stay home for 2 weeks as a precaution in case we'd been exposed in Florida. Within a week though, Dallas County had issued a shelter in place order, which remains in effect. Every so often school would push the return date back a little further, then eventually schools were closed for the academic year. Kevin plans out the kids' school schedule, oversees their work, and turns it in. It's less "homeschool," more "supervised distance learning." It's not ideal--the kids miss their teachers, friends, and routines, and we're poor substitutes for that. But, they've made it work pretty well.
Since we got back, we've all spent every day at home. Save for errands, running and cycling, and, for the kids, some social-distanced visits with the neighbor kids, we're here all day. When this all started, Whole Foods and Kroger were very limited on their produce and meat selection so I discovered the Korean H Mart in Carrollton and its bountiful selection.
Initially public health experts advised not to wear masks then began encouraging them once evidence suggested that masks helped asymptomatic carriers avoid spreading the disease. While masks are suggested, Dallas County does not require it. I've been wearing one for over a month since early April though when I go out and feel safer at the stores that do require masks (Whole Foods, H Mart) than Kroger (as of 7/20, every store I visit requires masks).
For the most part, "going to Court" these days means appearing by phone or Zoom. I've had one in-person hearing on a temporary guardianship but everything else has been remote. Today I had a Zoom hearing so I put on a blouse and suit jacket over my jogger pants. The "Court, but only from the neck up" look.
We haven't eaten out at a restaurant have only recently eaten out for the first time since this started, tacos on Torchy's patio with no other occupied tables nearby, but we usually get takeout once or twice on the weekend and I cook the rest of the meals. It feels like I'm always cooking and we run the dishwasher about every other day to keep up.
It's been a month since I filled up with gas. Gas prices are super low, but no one's got anywhere to go.
We've met up twice in Waco for an outdoor picnic with my parents. I'm glad we live close enough to be able to do that. Not sure when we'll be able to go visit them at their house or have them out to ours.
About which, we bought a new house in our same neighborhood and moved a few weeks ago, which is a whole post for another day, but all 4 of us being home so much really made clear that we needed more space. Now, with 3700sf, we've got more room to accommodate all of us being home during the day, including separate work spaces for Kevin (guest room) and me (office...once Wayfair finally sends me my desk). Which is good, as the kids' school will be virtual at least through September 7, but realistically, probably at least the whole fall semester. With Texas currently a coronavirus hot spot it's hard to see why the situation would improve to any meaningful degree in the next several months. (Maybe if we had better leaders, but hey, we have the worst president in our history in charge during the worst possible time, so...) So I fully expect that the kids will be schooling from home as Kevin and I both continue to work from home. Not ideal, but at least we'll have more space to enable us all to do so.
Going back and looking at this after a few months away from it is eye-opening. Look how much the numbers changed just in 2 months. What will they look like in another 2 months? Another year?
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| The bare meat section that awaited me at Whole Foods on March 13. Disney World felt like another lifetime even though we'd left Florida just hours earlier. Sh*t felt pretty real pretty fast. |
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| The line to check out at Kroger on March 13. Notice no masks, no distancing at this point, so the line really is that long. |
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| Our socially-distanced dinner party with our neighbors. |
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| During the shelter in place, the Dallas County Clerk's office was closed to the public. This is all you saw if you went to the office. It was surreal. |
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| Kevin giving Daniel a haircut in the front yard. |
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| One of my masks. I'm assuming masks will be standard attire for the next few years at this point. And maybe every cold and flu season? |
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| For awhile it was hard to find flour in the stores so I bought some from our pizza restaurant. |
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| Dressed for Zoom Court, but only from the neck up. |
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| The kids' school did drive-up only pick-up days and had a sign kids could pose with to mark the end of the school year. |
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| Playgrounds were closed for awhile and signs have been up reminding about maintaining 6 foot distancing. |
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