Dude, this is a really weird time.
We’ve now been under a state-mandated “stay-at-home” (self quarantine) order the last few weeks to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. This will be our way of life through the rest of this month, at least.
What has that meant for you? A lot more parent and sibling time, but no school, friends or extended family time. School has effectively been cancelled for you young kids two months early. It’s been interesting and somewhat disheartening to see how you and Eliza have processed the circumstance. You talk a lot about making sure you don’t spread germs and don’t want to be sick. You also want to try wearing masks like the people you see on the morning news. Kids shouldn’t have to worry about this stuff, but you do.
There are a lot of comparisons being made about what’s happening. We’re somewhere between 9/11 and World War 2 in terms of casualties. We’re heading toward a Great Depression. It’s all happening really fast.
None of this stacks up to the kind of world your Mom and I imagined bringing you into. But we’re doing our best to make sure you’re still playing, learning, getting exercise and seeing friends virtually. The silver lining in all of this is that we get to spend a lot more time together as a family, so we’re making the most of it. We’re reading, playing catch, swinging on the hammock, puzzling, coloring, watching TV, going for walks and at a rate faster than we would have done all that by the end of the year under normal circumstances.
I have had mixed emotions these past weeks: frustrated, helpless, inspired, motivated. It’s hard to express myself because the news changes so quickly and society is shifting behaviors in a lot of positive ways and also not fast enough to minimize the damage. I finally published how I felt last week in my primary social media channels, with pictures of you, Eliza and your Mom:
“These are the faces of Covid-19. Fortunately, due to home quarantine and social distancing, they (my wife, son and daughter) have not contracted the virus but they have been affected. They can't see their friends. They can't go to school. They can't see grandparents. I could wait to post this until after one of them or me contracts Covid-19. Or I could wait for another couple hundred cases in Seattle announced tomorrow. Or I could wait to learn my grandmother is sick and really worry. Or I could acknowledge that I'm not seeing my coworkers at all and that my brother in the food service industry can't work. And if this is hard for two weeks, what about two months or longer? Younger people under the age of 60 aren't worried about dying but they should be worried about making a living if this goes on for months or until we have a vaccine. We can wait for more federal and state government mandates or we can do what we know we should do anyway: stay home. “
I’m taking my own advice and staying home as much as necessary. We’ll see where this virus goes. It’s going to get a little better before it gets worse. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with all of this but I think you’ll also be young enough that what comes of Covid-19 will be “the way it’s always been” to you. Selfishly, I’m really glad to have you around because you bring so much joy and simplify life down to playing, eating and sleeping. That's a good way to live. Let’s do that.
Love, Dad