I decided to dust off the blog in order to document some of our experience during this global pandemic.
I remember sitting with 2 friends while our kids played a couple months ago when this virus first started to be news. I was concerned that it may affect the trip to Disney World that we were taking on March 21. We all agreed that the trip would probably be fine.
We were wrong. Since then, not only has Disney indefinitely shut its doors, but so have all other businesses deemed non-life sustaining. This is the case in PA and most other states. There are some states that have not closed as much.
Ryan's office is seeing emergencies only. We are only going to the grocery store when we really need to.
It's strange to see empty parking lots. Restaurants are carry-out only. The gyms are closed, the schools are closed. Today I learned that county singer John Prine died of coronavirus complications.
While this pandemic has upended nearly everything, one thing it hasn't done is affect the playful spirit of Liza. She is so completely happy living slower days, and has been having so much fun exploring various outdoor spaces that just haven't ben part of our "normal" until now. She is particularly loving that Ryan is home more than usual.
Our weeks usually looked about the same with preschool, friendship center, Costco, maybe a mcdonalds drive-thru or 2 on the way to the library to Rock the Spectrum. None of those places are available to us anymore (except the drive-thru, which we have chosen to avoid anyway). Now we wake up, take a lap around our neighborhood, and then decide where we will go next. We've checked out Ibberson, Boyd Big Tree Preserve, Governor Dick in Mt. Gretna, and several other areas that we were overdue to visit. We've started geocaching, and taking the scenic route wherever we go.
Thankfully, the weather has been mostly good. The nice weather has made all the difference in us really making the most of this time.
We've made an exception for our next door neighbors as far as social distancing is concerned. The kids are inseparable and play outside together constantly. They are being very careful regarding exposure as are we.
While I am thankful for the motivation to get outside and think outside the box, I hope there is an end to this virus soon and I hope things will open back up safely.
