A Long Post in Which I Chronicle the Recent Effects of Coronavirus On My Family

I publishd a few posts last week as usual, a few weeks behind, as usual, as if things were happening as usual in real time, though they were anything but.

Coronavirus has been in the news, at least on my radar, since January.  But it didn't begin to effect my life in any meaningful way until Wednesday, March 11th.  At that point we'd been warned not to shake hands, to be extra diligent about washing hands and not touching our faces, and to allow for extra space between strangers.  Eliza's gym informed parents of extra health measures they would be using.  Some minor changes had been announced for General Conference.

But on March 11th, things started getting real.  It was announced that General Conference will not have any spectators: only General Authorities, their wives, the musicians, and the technicians will be present in the Conference Center.  Ben and the other managers at his company told employees to begin working from home.  That night, President Trump announced that people would not be allowed to fly from Europe to the US.  We had a serious talk with the kids about the virus and the things we can do to keep ourselves and others healthy: washing hands thoroughly and often and not touching our faces.  When Jack went to bed that night, he was worried.  "I don't want to get the virus," he told me.  I reassured him that he was safe (only a few cases in Utah at that point), but that he still needed to be extra careful about hand-washing and avoiding touching his face, two things that do not come easily to him.

I had already been unable to buy toilet paper for a week, but on 3/11 I saw this for the first time.

And on the 12th, the world seemed to begin unravelling.  Piano lessons would be held over video chat.  Cat's two soccer seasons (playing with a girls' rec team and training with her school's boys' team) were suspended for two weeks.  Utah Governor Gary Herbert restricted gatherings of 100 or more people beginning the following Monday, for two weeks.  He announced that schools throughout Utah would be on "soft closure" for two weeks also.  And most surprising of all, President Nelson announced that all church gatherings would be suspended until further notice.

Cat watched Gov. Herbert's press conference with the boys' soccer team
in the coach's office after practice - the last time they'll be together for a while.

I started to feel tied to my phone, checking the news and reading emails constantly.  What is going to happen next??  My younger kids were out of school on Thursday and Friday, on previously announced 2019-2020 school calendar student holidays.  Thursday was a mostly-home day, but we did venture to meet up with cousins at a playground (it's still safe to play outside, right?).  Then I tried to run to the grocery store for ice cream cones for the kids and a few items for the family but after seeing a ridiculously long line, we just got the ice cream cones.  And a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies on our way out.

Another first, at the grocery store.

I decided to outwit the other stocking-up-in-case-of-quarantine shoppers in my area by getting up early to go to the local 24-hour grocery store at 5am on Friday, March 13th.  I walked in at 5:15 and saw that the check-out line literally went to the back of the store, and walked out - we have enough food (and enough toilet paper, fingers crossed) for now and maybe the panic will die down in a week or so.

With so many developments the last two days, I wanted to get the kids out on Friday before everything around us shut down.  We went to the library in Provo (the one in Orem was closed beginning that day) and stocked up on books and DVDs, then we went to a trampoline park to play for a little while, washing and sanitizing our hands much more often than usual.  It felt good to put my phone down and just play with the kids for a while!  That day, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints announced that beginning on Monday, proxy work in temples would be suspended.  We were very thankful that Cat and Jack already had appointments to do baptisms for the dead that night.

On Saturday we went skiing as a family, as had been on our calendar for weeks.  We were so glad to have something we could do where we felt safe getting out of the house for a few hours!  That day we got an email from our bishop, letting us know that we would be able to administer the Sacrament in our family when we have our home-church on Sunday.  I was so thankful, and excited about that.  (Our bishop also recommended we communicate via technology or semaphore, which I laughed about, after I looked it up.)

We had our first home-church ever on Sunday.  Sacrament Meeting (can I call it that?) was in the living room.  Cat chose the hymns and played piano, Luke gave the opening prayer, Ben blessed the Sacrament and Jack passed it, Luke shared the 3rd Article of Faith, Jack bore his testimony, Eliza shared a story she'd read in The Friend, Ben gave a talk on Alma 34, and Eliza offered the closing prayer.  Then we moved to the kitchen table and I led a CFM lesson on Jacob 1-4, talking mostly focusing on what it means to "look beyond the mark."

Then we ate lunch and got everything ready for a coronacation (term stolen from some hikers we overheard talking at Canyonlands) to Moab for a couple of days.  We debated about this, but decided it was a safe choice, since there had been no reported cases in our area and none in Southern Utah and we'd be spending the vast majority of our time outdoors or in our hotel room.  We had a great time on our trip (more on that later) and I kept thinking I was so thankful that we got out while we could, enjoying being out of our house and making fun memories before we're effectively quarantined.

We did get some news updates and emails about the virus while we were gone, including the new recommendation that no gatherings of more than 50 people take place for the next 8 weeks, and President Trump's recommendation that Americans stop discretionary travel and stop dining-in at restaurants.  I started getting information from teachers about how and what to do for schooling for the kids, and Cat's school closure was extended to Spring Break.  Gymnastics practices and the last meet of the year were cancelled for Eliza, and Jack's play cancelled (after getting a revised rehearsal schedule just the day before).  And all Utah ski resorts were closing, thwarting my plans to do a lot of skiing with the kids while they were out of school (figuring that between the outdoors and the hazmat-like gear you wear when you're skiing, it was a safe option).

The day we left, Moab, a very small town with a very small hospital, cut back restaurant services significantly and stopped accepting hotel reservations from visitors (allowing people who work in or around Moab to stay at hotels) in an effort to discourage tourists from coming.

It's now 8:56 on Wednesday morning and we're all home, trying to figure out our new normal.  (Of note: we had an earthquake at 7:09 this morning.  I hope that won't be part of the new normal.)  Ben is working upstairs.  I'll pick up the kids' school materials later this morning.  And other than piano and schoolwork, our schedules are literally completely clear.

Honestly, I'm thankful for more time with my family; I've been wanting this for a while.  But I'm also nervous about how we'll do this, how to help everyone be happy and get along and hopefully create some positive memories, while also keeping up with schoolwork and piano practice.

I know there will be challenges, and I wish I knew how long it would all last, because I'm fairly certain it will be more than 2 weeks, but I'm not scared.  I feel like we're temporally and spiritually prepared, doing our best to take care of ourselves but remembering that our faith and trust are in our Savior Jesus Christ.  We're in His hands, and in the end, everything will be okay.