I am, by nature, a skeptic. I have commented to Sean before that I’ll miss the boat on preparing for a disaster because my first reaction is always skepticism. When the first case of coronavirus was reported in the United States back in January, I didn’t give it much weight. It came from folks traveling. It *seemed* to be contained. I felt obliquely sad about things that were happening in other parts of the world, but I wasn’t yet worried about my own family and friends.
At one point, seemingly long ago now, one of our worries had been whether the bluebonnets would last till we got back from Florida.
It started its rapid spread throughout the country, and I started to wonder if our spring break travel plans would be affected. Then in early March, I started to worry that we were being irresponsible for considering traveling at all. Our intention had been to take the kids to Disney World for the very first time. Sean lives and breathes Disney; he had been planning this trip for months, waking early in the morning to get his preferred meal reservations and fast pass times, making spreadsheets for scheduling. He’d been finding fun ways for the kids to experience this place that he so totally loves: autograph books, laniards and pins for trading, special t-shirts and shoes.
Ian, age 5.
Then, on March 6th, our city made the unprecedented decision to cancel the SXSW festival. Hundreds of thousands of people would now *not* be congregating and possibly spreading an as-yet-not-well-understood disease. They would also not be dropping billions of dollars in local clubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, etc. I never thought it would happen. How cynical am I that it caught me off guard that human health would be chosen over the almighty dollar? That’s the day the magnitude of the crisis sunk in for me.
Maya, age 7. Note the lack of teeth.
My brain at that point was split. We were still going to go to Disney for our trip of a lifetime (largely because our trip insurance didn’t cover pandemics). We were so prepared for the trip and the kids were so, SO excited. Sheesh, Maya had even managed to extract all THREE of her loose teeth before we left so I wouldn’t have to keep track of them at Disney World. But half of me was wishing they’d close the parks so we could do the responsible thing and stay the fuck home. We were supposed to leave on Saturday, the 14th. On Thursday the 12th, they announced park closure. Very early in the morning on the 13th, the first case of coronavirus was reported in Austin. Only slightly less early on the 13th, they announced that Maya’s school was closing a day early for spring break.
We let ourselves feel disappointment on Thursday and maybe a little Friday morning. But I think Sean and I were both just relieved. He spent most of his Friday rescheduling the Disney trip. After many hours on hold, that was largely dealt with. The kids were a little mopey for a bit, but we had already been explaining about coronavirus and how diseases are spread and the extra precautions we were taking, so I’m not sure they were even too surprised. At least so far, they’ve handled the whole thing with grace.
A clue, Watson.
Sean was smart. Because we had been planning on being gone for a week, we had cleared our refrigerator of most of the produce and fresh foods, so we really had nothing much to feed our family of four for the week we were now largely going to be staying in the house. He had gone to Costco earlier in the week on a normal restock run and had seen the bare shelves and had been able to purchase very little. At the time, we assumed we’d just have to deal with it once we were back from our trip. Now, with our fridge bare and knowing there was a coronavirus case in Austin that would set off fresh new alarm bells, he woke early on Friday the 13th, to get our normal run of groceries. He said it wasn’t bad when he got there at 7a, but by the time he left, it was apparently a madhouse. And it has stayed that way ever since.
Over the coming days, we watched as the NBA cancelled everything, Broadway theaters shut down, international travel was restricted, and a national state of emergency was declared. More locally, Maya’s school closure has extended through early April, the restaurants shifted to carry-out and delivery only, the movie theaters closed. The infection count is rising, the stock market is tumbling. Predictions run the gamut from bleak to downright scary. It’s a weird time we’re living in.
My first thought after the Disney cancellation, had been to try and find something unpopulated and outdoors to do for a few days instead. Unfortunately, Maya had gotten vomity sick on Saturday. She sprouted a low-grade fever that was gone within a day, and since then she’s had a lingering cough. If we had had any thoughts of salvaging spring break by planning a camping trip or some other equally people-avoiding endeavor, they were abandoned with her illness.
Luckily, our house is filled to the brim with silly
We’ve been trying to keep busy though. On Sunday, we dressed in some of our new Disney shirts and took the kids out for our annual bluebonnet photos. Other than the kids freaking out over bees (I had to piggyback our 65 lb daughter to our photo spot), it was nice enough. There were no other people out and the weather was beautiful.
Our back yard, which has been neglected ever since I became pregnant with Maya, is finally seeing some slow but steady action. I’m clearing weeds, adding dirt back where it has eroded away over the years, laying mulch. The kids have had fun choosing and planting a few plants, and we’ve started seeds for a few food crops and a few Texas native shade plants that I’m hoping will survive the tough conditions in our back yard. I also cleaned out their semi-neglected sandbox and Ian has spent hours installing sticks, shells, rocks, leaves, and flowers to make a special place for birds that he has dubbed Bird Land.
Getting ready to make cookies
Maya’s cough had finally died down enough that on Tuesday, the kids and I made roll-and-cut cookies. The kids LOVE using their vast collection of cutters and decorating the cookies with colorful icing. They both wound up having to wash their hands multiple times throughout the process for infractions such as coughing and fiddling with nostrils.
We had bought everyone fun Disney shirts for St Patrick’s since we were originally going to be celebrating in the House of Mouse. We even got some for Lolli and Pop, who had planned to be there with us for a few days. Once our trip fell apart, Sean had the foresight to send their shirts to them quickly enough that they’d get them in time. And they sent us a photo (and later on, a line dance video) of them in their St Pat’s shirts.
Lolli and Pop!
Finally yesterday, we all got out of the house for a hike. Sean has been the only one going out and purchasing needed items. He is very careful and doesn’t get easily stressed out. He takes hand sanitizer with him. So far, it has been ok. But the weather is (allegedly) supposed to turn rainy (we’ve been hearing that story all damn week), so we took our chances and all went on a roughly 2.5 mile hike on the Turkey Creek Trail, which is only about a 20-minute drive away from us. When we told them we were going, the kids whined about being too tired to go on a hike, but once they were there, it was clear they were excited to be out and doing something different. It was 80 degrees and overcast – perfect hiking weather. We saw lots of other people and their dogs, but with gentle reminders to the kids to keep their hands to theirselves, it seemed to be ok. Ian was sad he couldn’t pet all the dogs, but we thought it best if he avoided it.
Toward the end of the Turkey Creek trail
Sean’s job has mandated that he work from home. I have, of course, worked from home for nearly ten years now. Maya and Ian will both be home for AT LEAST the next couple weeks. We are not hiring a parade of sitters to come into the house (that seems counter-productive to all the social distancing measures our city, state, and country have taken). This week has been semi-manageable since we had taken the spring break week off. For the couple weeks following, we are trying to work out a schedule where we can both get our work done but still keep the kids occupied and possibly even slightly educated. Both of us expect the closure to go on longer.
One source says the coronavirus case count in Austin is now 41. That’s just shy of double what it was posted as yesterday. We are discussing limiting our errands even further than we already have. Soon enough, those limits may become mandates. Until then, we’ll use our best judgement and try not to get on each other’s nerves … too much.
