Pandemic Week 6: The Cancellations

Anna prepping to cook stir fry
COVID-19 cases in the DC metro area continue to rise - something that was not unexpected.  Most folks are wearing masks in public places and the stay at home order remains in effect.  While the Maryland & Virginia Governors, along with the DC Mayor, began talking about a phased re-opening, it seems likely it will be the end of May at best.

Meanwhile, this week marked the return of on-line school for Anna and a new routine.  At the beginning of the week, Anna started each morning with a Mom meeting to go over the assignments for the day.  As the week progressed, Anna was late to her meetings (and Mom had other meetings booked for work, so that did not work so well).  At the end of the day, work was still not completed, leading Mom to wonder what was going on (she had her suspicions).  Thanks to some research by Dad and the handy parental controls on web browsing, it quickly became clear that there was a significant amount of YouTube videos (not school related).  By the end of the week, Anna had relocated herself to the basement with Mom for the school day.....and her work was completed.  Success!

We continued to find things to occupy our time in between work and school.  This weeks events included:

  • Joe started a new 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.  This quickly morphed into a family activity.
  • Theresa got some new clothes in the mail.  Despite the work from home order, Theresa still tries to dress up some (at least to look for professional for the video conferences) so she is looking forward to some new outfits this week.  This also benefited Anna, who got a cute dress for 8th grade graduation.......if it ever happens.
  • Anna composed a piece on a digital music site that she gained access to through Vienna Jammers - and her song was featured on this week's blog post for the group.
  • Enjoyed a mid-week take-out dinner from the Italian Gourmet, a restaurant owned by one of Anna's friends.
  • Walked to downtown Vienna on Saturday to get some Rita's Italian Ice (social distance style).  We followed up on Sunday with a walk to the Oakton shopping center.
  • Anna cooked dinner on Sunday, followed by Mom's homemade ice cream (using the last box of Thin Mints that Anna somehow did not find).
  • Took Storm on extra walks.
  • Enjoyed a Sunday Zoom session with the  Fagella family

While we made the most of thing, we also had our disappointments over the weekend.  The Girl Scouts canceled all activities through  August, which means Anna will miss out on camp and her 8th grade trip with her troop to Salt Lake City.  She was very disappointed.  Also, Joe & Theresa decided to cancel the planned summer vacation trip to Glacier National Park (the airline had a deadline of this week to cancel without penalties).   Given the current situation and the COVID-19 outlook, it seemed like the most responsible thing to do.

In the grand scheme of things, these are minor.  Daily, we are reminded of the generosity of others as they seek to help those less fortunate.  One of our local residents is coordinating with the community to collect donations to provide thank you meals for folks on the front line.  She is helping keep local restaurants going and recognizing often overlooked groups (how many times do people show up at the local post office with food for the staff).   There is always good - you just need to look around to see it.


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