The title of this post was suggested by Mason. It's been a while since we've posted anything on this Blog. In the good old days (notably in Virginia, but even in Arkansas), we would have fun updates to share on an almost weekly basis. Of course, COVID has turned fun upside down. In fact, it's made fun a little bit harder to come by. Compared to many, though, we have nothing to complain about. So many people have lost their jobs, money, homes...and many have died. In fact, the death total is now around 534,000. What a tragedy to think of so many who have lost loved ones from COVID, or who will suffer from various symptoms for the rest of their lives.
We have been asked to do relatively little: wear masks, social distance (at least 6 feet away), forego various entertainment options, order takeout instead of dining in...we feel grateful that the impacts on our immediate family's lives have been minimal. In fact, only a few of our extended family have contracted COVID. The biggest downer for us personally has been the geographic restrictions we've had to live with, especially given my work in the military. For almost the entire past year, we've been restricted to staying within 75 miles of where we live unless we get an exception signed off. We've only left that 75 mile radius twice: Once when we moved from Arkansas to Texas, which we were able to do due to Joanna being pregnant with Emma. The other time was when we visited the McConkies in Colorado for Thanksgiving. When we have been able to leave the 75-mile bubble, we've been required to take numerous precautions to make sure we don't get sick. While kids have been relatively unimpacted by the virus health-wise, it has certainly taken its toll on them as well. School has been cancelled for months at a time, sports have been abbreviated, and kids have had to wear masks like everyone else.
MASON'S THOUGHTS
We feel jealous that other kids get to not have school while the virus is spreading up to this day.
BACK TO DAD'S THOUGHTS
Kids need to go to school, Mason. Your generation has become corrupted.
Okay...enough of that.
At the end of the day, the biggest impact on us has been the lack of travel opportunities during COVID. We miss being able to hit the road at the drop of the hat and go somewhere fun. Back in the good old days of law school, if there was a 4 hour gap in my schedule we would just look something up, pack up, and go. Hopefully we'll have those kinds of opportunities again.
Things are looking hopeful. The vaccine is being distributed very quickly. Apparently the vaccine will be available to almost all adults by early May, and the latest updates show over 2 million Americans getting vaccinated daily. Hurray! I just got the first round of my vaccine a couple weeks ago, and I will get my second dose in a couple weeks. We're hoping Joanna can get hers soon. Then hopefully things will start opening up again. Church meetings have been canceled for most of the past year. Having church from home has actually been a really sweet experience overall, but I'm looking forward to having the companionship of our fellow Church members once again. Hopefully later this year I'll be able to fly commercial again and the travel restrictions will be mostly lifted. One of the biggest bummers has been just not being able to plan travel. This past week I put my paternity leave in the calendar so that feels good! We plan on visiting family in Arizona and Utah for three weeks. We decided to take care of travel things in our control and applied for passports a few weeks ago. Now we all have them except for Lizzie, and hers will be arriving soon. Then we can really hit the road! My Mom, Dad, and Jordan will be visiting in early April, so we're excited for that. We've missed family time, and while it's been nice to have Facetime, Zoom, and Portal, we're looking forward to some more face-to-face interactions in the next few months.
So that's where we are now. So many days have blurred into each other given the circumstances that COVID has brought upon us.
Oh yeah, another crazy thing happened a few weeks ago. We had one of the biggest snowstorms in the history of Texas. The weather has been relatively mild since we've moved to Abilene. In fact, it's been one of the most pleasant winters I can remember, but that storm was something else. The temperatures stayed below freezing for an entire week, and most of the city was without power for several days, and even the water supply was cutoff for a couple days. We were glad to live on base as our power stayed on, but we did limit our usage. Sadly, a few people died in Abilene. Some of my coworkers had to move into hotels for a few days. Somehow most of us still kept going to work. In fact, I prosecuted a court-martial that same week.
Since that week, things have been beautiful again. Lots of sunshine! Yesterday, Austin Shirey, my friend across the street, helped us build a cornhole set. I have to say, it looks great!
Now that COVID is almost out of the way, we're looking forward to many fun gatherings ahead. Heaven knows how much we need contact with others. I feel for so many whose loneliness has been compounded these last several months. We really need one another.
