In the last few weeks we’ve used words and phrases like social distance, quarantine, and global pandemic, just to name a few with our kids. Things I never would have imagined saying or explaining to them. But here we are. A lot has changed in our community and around the world in the last few weeks.
Contemplating all that’s happening brought me back to a passage about the effects of yellow fever in August of 1773 in David McCullough’s John Adams.
“In Philadelphia, beginning in August, yellow fever raged in the worst epidemic ever to strike an American city….By the last weeks of August people were dying in Philadelphia at a rate of more than twenty a day. In September, as the death toll rose rapidly, Benjamin Rush and other physicians, helpless to stop the plague, advised all who could leave the city to do so without delay. The federal government and most businesses shut down….To avoid contamination people stopped shaking hands and walked in the middle of the streets….That yellow fever, like malaria, is transmitted by mosquitos would not be understood for another hundred years.”
“By October the death rate reached more than a hundred a day. People were dying faster than they could be buried. Numbers of physicians and ordinary citizens performed heroically, doing all they could for the stricken…”
In a strange way, it’s comforting to remember that as bad as things are right now, as weird as it is to be stuck at home unable to do the everyday things of life, this is not the first time our country has been through something like this. This too shall pass, and one day we will look back and tell our children or grandchildren what it was like when we were all stuck inside for weeks or even months as this terrible virus spread across the globe killing thousands of people, how our kids couldn’t play with their friends, how restaurants and movie theaters were closed, how no sports were played, how we worried about finding toilet paper. Also, in the same way they did not understand in 1773 much about yellow fever, I wonder what history will have to say about the Coronavirus and the things we’ve done right or wrong to fight it.
As difficult as it sometimes is right now, we also want to document what we’re experiencing, so here are a few things we’re doing.
PICTURES
A few weeks ago our favorite photographer used her time and talent to do an amazing project that we were so glad to be a part of. Called “Front Steps Project 2020,” she photographed, from a distance, families around our community on their front steps during this time in history. She had an overwhelming response.
She asked that in return that we make a positive sign to be used during the photos. And that we purchase a gift card from one of our amazing small businesses or restaurants in our community or make a donation to a local charity. We were more than happy to participate and support some of our favorite local restaurants.
She captured the kids and myself, minus Tom, who’s still going to work, with their favorite outdoor item they’ve been using during these weeks we’ve been staying close to home. I love how the pictures turned out. And I’m so glad we have them as a keepsake of this unprecedented time in our lives.
INTERVIW WITH THE KIDS
Last week we did a little video interview with the three older boys. I started by letting them say their age and asked them a few questions to get their perspective on this time.
Here’s what we asked them:
- What do you miss most since being quarantined?
- What has been your favorite thing about quarantine so far?
- What is something you’d like to do or learn while in quarantine?
- What’s the first things you want to do when quarantine is over?
- How can we help ourselves stay healthy right now?
It was neat to hear their responses and have it documented. Their mutual answers had to do with missing school friends and playing outside with their friends.
WRITING/JOURNALING
I don’t keep a journal, but it’s a practice I’ve always said I wanted to do. I have a journal that I use for sermon notes on Sundays but nothing that’s a daily thing. However, since this started I’ve been trying to be diligent about writing down what our days have been like, nothing elaborate just to get the facts down so we or our children and grandchildren can look back and read about what it was like for us as a family during this time.
I’ve tried to write down the more major details that pertain to our daily life, like watching church online from our living room, what a grocery store trip is like right now, how there’s a shortage of toilet paper, how our governor issued a “shelter in place” order, and most recently, how the federal government recommended wearing face masks for all individuals in public places like grocery stores.
The older boys have also been writing to their classmates and teachers. They each have small classes so it’s nice to stay connected by sending letters to each other. They’ve sent short notes, drawings, coloring pages and such to each other. They’ve each done an online chat with their classmates a few times. But writing letters isn’t a bad way to get back a classic form of communication.
Overall, we’re doing pretty well. We’ve gotten into a new rhythm to our days. The weather has been so beautiful and we’ve been able to get outside every morning to exercise together and get fresh air.
There have certainly been moments of uncertainty, but I’m grateful that right now we’re all together and healthy and savoring this of togetherness.
