Our Little Earthquake That Shook My World.

Monday, March 18th. 7:00 am. We were just getting ready for our first day of remote-learning homeschool.  We we all a little nervous-cited about what homeschool would look like.  Bronson and Quinton were in my room, trying to get me out of bed so we could get started.  I think David was in our bedroom doorway talking to me.  

I felt/heard a low vibration. At first if felt like a large truck or a train passing by.  But it kept going and going. After several seconds, David and I both came to the realization at the same time - "Earthquake!"

I kind of froze. David thought it was awesome! He told the boys to get in a doorway, which they did.  I can't remember what I did.  I think I didn't do anything.  It wasn't powerful - just enough to cause some light fixtures to sway. It lasted for about 45 seconds to a minute. 

I'm SO glad David was there because his enthusiam kept any fear that our kids might have had at bay.  Josh came running up the stairs. We turned on the television and watched news reports. I went down to the girls' room to tell them.  They had felt it - kind of - as they were waking up. 

That was it.  There were sevral shorter, less powerful aftershocks for abut a week, but nothing major. What a way to start school, eh? 2020 just kept coming at us!!! I remember sitting at the mechanic shop while my oil was getting changed.  Masks were kind of a new thing and no one knew if we should or shouldn't wear them, but we all stayed away from each other.  I was sitting there in the lobby trying to avoid human contact while watching television reports about an earthquake and a pandemic.  It was like the Twilight Zone!!!

The earthquake was seriously not a big deal. I know that. But it messed with my mental health in a MAJOR way!  I'm sure I was already stressed by the pandemic - keeping my family safe and juggling my new career as a school teacher with the rest of my life. But this kind of put me over the edge.  I just kept imagining what would happen if that earthquake hit in the middle of a school day (as it was,  Alison would have been at early morning seminary if school hadn't been cancelled). My boys go to school several miles from our home.  They're not in the neighborhood school. And David works all over the place - sometimes quite far from home.  What would I do? How would I get everyone back together again? These thoughts ran through my mind CONSTANTLY.  I wanted all my family nearby all the time (which actually worked out since we HAD to be together - except David). I jumped every time a truck drove by our house (still do a little bit). I started sleeping practically fully dressed just in case I needed to bolt. And I started clenching my jaw in my sleep. 

I'm telling you - 2020 was no joke!

All Heck Breaks Loose!!!

 I hardly even know where to start this post.  Life went to POT in March of 2020! 

Somewhere in February, we started hearing about a frightening illness in China. It reportedly had a high rate of transmission and high mortality rates.  Bronson remembers once going into Win-Co with Nicole to buy a treat and her telling him about the illness.  She said it could come to America.  Bronson thought she was just trying to freak him out. None of us really had a clue what was coming!  Maybe David did more than the rest of us because he listens to the news more, but even he couldn't have forseen the mess that was headed our way.

I assume that whoever is reading this history knows about COVID-19 and the history of how it came about, etc.  I will primarily focus on how it affected OUR family.  I know that every family who lived through the pandemic has lots of stories to tell.  I'm just going to focus on ours. 

The pandemic hit a breaking point just days after I had my thyroid surgery.  I remember sitting in the driveway with a bunch of other moms while we watched our kids play in the neighborhood.  It was while I was still recovering from the anethesia, so it was just two or three days after surgery.  We were talking about the rumors that our kids wouldn't be returning to school after spring break. We all thought the idea was ludicrous!  What about the kids with working parents? Or difficult family situations? What would everyone do? Just STOP learning?!?  It was crazy to even imagine!

And yet - that's exactly what happened.  The govenor closed all schools - giving them a week to figure out how to facilitate remote learning for their students.  We were shocked!  Then, he said that everyone except "essential workers" should stay home from work - figure out how to work from home for the next extended while. (David was considered an "essential worker" so he had to keep working). Then the accouncement from the church came, saying that all temples were closed and Sunday church meetings were suspended until further notice.

As you can imagine, we were all shocked and terrified!  It was a frightening time. We watched the numbers of cases and deaths in the US rise and spread.  They were still far away from us at the beginning, but we could watch it creep closer and closer every day.  Shelves at the grocery store were wiped clean - people fighting over toilet paper and bottled water. People's loved ones in the hospital or nursing homes were basically sequestered and could have no contact with anyone for fear of catching the virus. No one knew how to interact (social distancing and mask guidlines weren't set up yet). Some people were terrified, while others spread conspiracy theories and refused to follow any guidlines that were created.  It was a wild time. 

Our little family unit was in a strange place. When information started to become available, we learned that the disease was particularly dangerous to the frail, elderly community.  Mortality rates were very high for this category.  David spent his entire days working in the homes of frail elderly people.  So, even though David was kind of bugged by the fact that he believed it was a little blown out of proportion, we decided as a family that we couldn't live with the idea of being the cause of anyone's death.  Because of that, we were VERY strict in the way we ALL followed the CDC guidleines.  We had very little to no physical contact with people outside our own nuclear family.  Thanks goodness for technology, inspiration, and creativity. We actually had some good memories throughout the pandemic lockdown.