Two years of living during the Covid-19 pandemic, in monthly installments
The global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus has been with us for 2 years. We are learning to live with it, and the virus with its various mutations is still teaching.
Everyone's life has been affected. We didn't have a vaccine for the first year, then the deadly Delta variant and the uber transmittable Omicron variant entered the scene. We've had the mask wars, the hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin (both antiparasite - not antiviral - medications) debacles, and vaccine fear-mongering. Today's tragic metrics:
But life goes on for most of us. We adapt.
In this blog, I've chosen 1 photo from each month (well, not always), beginning in January 2020, to represent my journey through this pandemic. You'll get a sampling of what I've done, what I've learned, and what I believe, in these months. The purpose? The purpose is to demonstrate that, pandemic or not, life continues. We traveled, we volunteered, we visited with our children.
2020
January
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| We traveled on 2 different cruise ships in January. Although we were aware of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, the huge outbreaks on cruise ships had not yet occured. However, given the international makeup of the passengers and crew, I have no doubt the virus was beginning to make its way on board. |
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| We flew from Florida to Hawaii. The first week we were there, we attended a presentation by Dr. Bruce Anderson of the Hawaii Department of Health, where he gave an update on this mysterious coronavirus, followed a few days later with another public meeting featuring Lt. Governor Josh Green (a physician). Both focused on hand washing as a preventative technique. Anderson was later fired for his slow response to contact tracing. |
March
In March, the shit hit the fan. Colleges and universities sent students home. People avoided commercial flights, buses, and subways like the plague. And there was a nationwide shortage of... toilet paper. The focus now was hand washing, food washing, and social distancing.
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| This is the daytime, non-stop flight from Honolulu to Chicago. Normally, this flight would be full. This time we each had our own row on the plane, and by "row", I mean all the seats in the left, right, and center sections. |
Here are a few additional photos, focusing on shortages in stores (staples like rice and canned meats, as well as TP, and the closure of the park across the street from our house.
April
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| Hand sanitizer, social distancing, and now masking. People were receiving mixed messages on masking, but people started sewing their own and giving them to friends. Here, we are at Lowe's picking up items for spring gardening. |
May
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| In March, Caroline decided she needed a "shut down" hobby, so she picked up the ukulele. Here she is serenading neighbor Anya in Logan, who is going to ride her bike around the neighborhood to wave to her friends from the street on her birthday. This was a quick "together" photo before they separated. |
June
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| People try to find some normalcy, but life is different. We were supporting Ambassador Jon Huntsman for the GOP governor primary, but when we arrived we found that only 3 of us were wearing masks. Huntsman, his wife, his running mate, and all of his staff, as well as the majority of the audience, were not wearing masks. So we stood in the back and listened, then left as he made his rounds shaking hands. Six days later... |
July
We spent July in Utah, and family came to visit us. It was fabulous! Oh, and I had a quiet retirement. After 29 years, nary a peep from my colleagues. My retirement celebration was a casualty of the pandemic.
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| Back to DC! Our kids were moving into the house next door to their old apartment that needed some real TLC. I played with Kepler while everyone else did real work, cleaning, painting, repairing,and replacing. |
September
The Logan Marathon! Wesley and I had been training in Rock Creek Park in DC, and I returned to Logan a week before this race. The next day, Wesley ran his marathon, solo, in DC.
October
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| Home gyms help beat the pandemic blues! |
November
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| Great Falls is a series of rapids and waterfalls on the Potomac River in Maryland. We rode our bikes from Columbia Heights to Great Falls. One flat, one tire replacement (that needed to be delivered), and one broken chain later, we all made it home! |
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| Caroline continues with her ukulele mastery. But now, Robert and Wesley begin playing, so we have a band! |
2021
January
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| Lots of things happened in January. The January 6 insurrection. Caroline remodeling our bathrooms. But my big memory is that the vaccine for Covid-19 came out, and there were lines of older people just so happy to get it. I'm at a drive-through clinic, managing traffic, while Caroline was giving shots. I rotated inside this building and outside, where the temperature was in the single digits. |
February
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| That second vaccination! Caroline is getting what she is giving. We continued working at the vaccination clinics. |
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| Back to Oahu with friend Jordy! |
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| Sunset at Waikiki, with Caroline's parents. This might have been the first time out of the house for them in 9 months. |
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| Caroline's ukulele zoom jam. She organizes a weekly ukulele jam, now with hundreds of songs. Her favorite participants are Robert, Wesley, and Michael. |
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| And... back to DC. We are kayaking on the Potomac River with Artie. The vultures in the background? They are just wishful thinkers. |
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| Yes, we have too many ukuleles, but this splaited maple uke by Hricane is a piece of work! |
August
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| What a delight! Playing ukulele on the city walls of Lucca, Italy! Unfortunately, no one slipped a Euro into our ukulele cases... |
Good life in troubled times!
ReplyDeleteDelightful! such a great idea to document these crazy times. . . and yet, life continues.
ReplyDelete