Kate

27

04/02/2021

Oneonta, NY

I've often recalled a conversation I had with a friend in early March 2020 where we joked "I could really go for some quarantine right now!", expecting that we'd get a couple weeks off work and then life would go back to normal. I think it was probably May or June of 2020 when I fully realized that things weren't going to be back to normal for a long time.

I no longer complain about the price of toilet paper! Since it was so hard to find in the early days of the pandemic, I now feel grateful just to be able to buy it!

This is not necessarily a huge issue in my own community, but I've been surprised at some people's unwillingness to wear a mask to protect others. I think that the argument "If you're scared then stay home" shows a real disregard for others who do not have that option. All of that aside, it's been nice to see positive support for essential workers.

We had a trip to Ireland planned to celebrate my partner's 30th birthday in December 2020. Instead we had a small celebration at home with just the two of us. We still plan to take the trip someday, but don't want to go unless we know that everything we want to do there will be fully open and we can get the experience we originally wanted.

It has been wonderful being home with my dog all the time, and she has gotten a lot more walks just because I want to get out of the house! I do worry what impact it will have on her when I go back to work and suddenly she's home alone again.

One bright spot has been online live streams of events, concerts, and other entertainment. Some of my favorite musicians have held virtual shows from their homes and I always contribute to their "virtual tip jars."

My grandfather died from COVID on April 7, 2020. It happened very quickly and I'm glad he didn't suffer long, but that was so early on in the pandemic that things seemed very surreal (and still do). I said goodbye to him over the phone while a nurse held the phone up to his ear. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Ten close family members gathered for a small funeral...they set up a computer so I could attend (with many others) via Zoom. I think we all felt a sense of powerlessness because we couldn't be with him during his last days. Many family members still harbor a lot of guilt around this.

I hope we normalize wearing masks if you're sick or immunocompromised. I also think we've learned how to be very productive with online tools and that this will inspire further innovation and connection across physical distances.

Kate

COVID-19 (Disease)

Southern Adirondack Library System

04/02/2021

Southern Adirondack Library System

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

English

Covid History

12544255460

Coronavirus Pandemic