So nothing is normal and yet it’s starting to fill normal. We just do less or at least go less places. This AM I ventured out for fresh Bagels to our local favorite, Town Bagel, for bagels and sides. It has undergone the full war zone conversion with open doors, 6 ft marked by x and a contactless process. Even the claims at normalcy become reminders of the virus!

It rained all day. I mostly avoided the news save for Governor Cuomo’s can’t miss press conference. He is both telling hard truths and inspiring. Amazing.

Zoom has taken over everything. At 2 we had a family Zoom with cousins, aunts, etc. Out oldest taught the family a dance and we filmed a Tik Tok. It was abnormal yet oddly normal.

We didn’t do much. We broke our for a late afternoon drizzly wall and it felt like we headed to the moon. Simple pizza dinner. Quiet night.

The pace of bad news is picking up. Corona cases went up by over a thousand just in NY just TODAY.

Our night last night was HORRIBLE. Our beta broke stuck in the on position and we were melting in 83 degree heat. This AM a man came to repair it. He wore mask and gloves and it was like no service appointment before. He changed thermostat and back tomorrow for more!

We took a long bike ride today. Hayley doesn’t have it yet but more from fear than skill. Landon is a wizard on the bike and Caroline coming along strong. Er and I have decided to outfit our own bike with ambitions of a family ride. Social distancing means we can’t give kids play dates so this feels like the only outlet. They need the exercise and the fresh air and the freedom.

We came back and had fancy lunch. I cleaned the garage and made room for ping pong. I figured we need another activity!

We got our first direct connection with COVID-19. A friend’s mom and she’s battling despite being in great shape. This bug is no joke and the news but a pall on our afternoon.

Quiet, dark night. You can almost feel the reality and the doom settling in!

Camp is the last hope but also another source of darkness. One camp pushed insurance and everyone bugged out if things will be good enough to have it. Our owner signaled positivity but even Hayley got upset at what could be lost.

Tomorrow’s another day. Tonight we are just grateful for health!

Yesterday was so strange. Our kids slept late as did we. Normally we grab bagels Saturday but that felt unnecessary. We are social distancing and so I made bacon and eggs. Then by 9 the first big decision. Should we let the kids go to their tennis lesson?

Tennis we ultimately decided is a great sport for social distancing. No touching and the required 6 feet of distance from everyone. So out we headed like usual…but nothing was the same. The kids could feel the tension. I replaced coffee in my cup holder with Purrell so as soon as we exited we could protect ourselves. The tennis center had its own protocol in place with all doors propped open so no one had to touch. Ray, the kids coach made some jokes and gratefully accepted some Purcell. Then a few mins of normal while the kids played.

At home again we faced another decision. Should Hayley our 10 yr old go to fitness class? She desperately needed the outlet and the time with friends but at what cost? The class was moved outside and so she went. Erica, my wife drove her grateful for the normality a carpool conveyed.

We ate lunch as a family. Often we’d eat out on a Saturday like this but of course not now. I tore through my home office which day to day has become a storage room and playroom and never a place I work. I decided to try to reclaim it to prepare for Monday’s WFH. An hour later I could see the desktop again,

The family decided to go for a long walk on our bike path. It was glorious and normal and a beautiful day. Everyone calmed down a bit. Caroline our youngest girl was jumpy. Every unfamiliar natural sound freaked her out. It was helpful – letting Er and I register how high her tension level was. She’s the kid that’s most sensitive to us, a mirror for our terror. On we walked and better we felt. The fear was always with us. Er asked a random couple to take our picture and then fretted she’d let a random touch her phone!

The promised turnaround point was our local Starbucks at Country Pointe. Starbucks mid-walk felt like an easy promise. We went in carefully with Er excited to wash her hands after the phone incident. Everyone ordered and we laughed bc Landon wanted to sit and devour a full bagel. The longer we lingered in the store the more fraught it felt. Friends from our pool club came in and we did the Awkward air kiss and talked about our fears.

At home post walk we found a group of neighbors outside playing and chatting. This is the hardest part of social distancing – how close is too close?? We let the kids play begging them not to touch each other or to interact too much. It was sad and terrifying. We came home and drank.

3.16.2020

Today is the day. Homeschooling. Erica managed the 3 kids for the morning while I ‘worked from home’. Oddest part is I am busy and business is GOOD. We held a virtual huddle or all agency meeting with 200+ people and it worked.

I want to remember today as the day everyone finally got it. For parents, the reality of managing their kids all day while trying to get something done was scary and hammered home how bad this is. For others, it was President Trump FINALLY sounding sober and serious. It also got scary – Governor Cuomo practically begged Trump to buy ventilators and bike hospitals. My brother in SF(actually Oakland) got a full shelter in place order and they can’t leave the house for 3 weeks.

Our family had a nice day. I worked the morning and then we had lunch as a family. The kids played basketball and played outside while I installed a new end of driveway ball stopper so we don’t lose Landon to an errant ball. Erica and Hayley took an online fitness class together; they also challenged friends and their moms to the ‘Renegade challenge’ with no takers yet. The kids are detemined to make the 900lbs with their baking. Today’s was fudge brownies which I am stills eating.

The social distancing, god I already hate the phrase, isn’t all bad. Our kids really enjoyed each other through a multi-hour fort making process. Dinner feels more important and more appreciated – tonight’s was sirloin steak straight from the freezer via Butcher Box with baked sweet potatoes. We LOVED that our elementary school Principal Mr. Scesney and assistant principal Clampitt did Morning announcements via video; it did more to bring a smile to Landon’s face than anything. A friend down the block suggested we ask the kids to make rainbows and place them in windows. We can have play dates but everyone walking around a lot so the new game is count the rainbows!