3.8. million infected worldwide
1,254,972 confirmed cases in United States
75,670 deaths in U.S.; 195,036 recovered
35,390 cases in Texas;
973 deaths in Texas;
217 of 254 counties have had cases;
Brazos County has had 232 cases (ranks 24th in the state) with 119 recovered, and 17 deaths.
Houston has had 7,244 cases and Dallas has had 4,869 cases
Denton County has had 846 cases
So, since the the last 18 days, since I last updated, we have been doing ok. The week before Atticus' birthday, we decided to finally break quarantine and go swimming at the Kiessling's with our entire family. Then, the kids went swimming again that weekend and then the following week (the night before Atticus's birthday), Atticus, Grace & I went to the Kiessling's and swam with them and Kristen, Beckett & Kate. I was feeling good about this because all of us have been social distancing and staying healthy. And, goodness, it did wonders for my soul to have friends to visit with! And it was great for the kids too. We didn't go home until 10pm that night and it was the moms who wanted to keep visiting, and the kids were worn out!
I will say that in some ways this quarantine situation has not been as terrible thanks to Marco Polo. Although Mary and I have not visited daily, which I really miss, we still visit. And we have an Erwin Family Marco Polo that keeps going. And I still talk to Mom & GG on MP and Cecilia, Meghan and I have a group MP. Plus, I have seen my neighbors Leah & Kelly for a social distanced wine night at the end of our driveways. And I have had text conversations with plenty of people. So, it hasn't been as bad as it could be. However, we have really been wanting to get out, like so many people. We are not crazy and have taken this COVID-19 seriously and will continue to. But, we have been awaiting the re-opening of Texas. The funny thing about it is that it has definitely been something to look forward to, although my little crew and I aren't changing much. So, originally, the governor shut down the State of Texas and said no groups larger than 10; stay with your family at home; outside exercise was fine; try to wear masks; social distance by at least 6 feet from other people; stay home if you have health issues; only essential services could be opened such as certain builder/home people (plumbers, etc.), medical people, grocery stores, convenient stores, TVMDL (medical lab), etc. You could do curbside for certain retail (if it contained school related items or COVID supporting items) and for restaurants (including alcohol which I thought was so funny).
The thought was the the U.S. would peak mid-April, but actually every state around the U.S. had different expected peak times. We have heard for a few weeks now that Brazos County won't peak with cases until late May. We really thought CSISD would try to go back to school for a couple of weeks at the end of May, if possible. Many schools in Texas had already closed for the year, but CSISD had not. However, in late April, the governor announced all schools will remained closed for the rest of the school year. This part was really hard to tell the kid; I learned on Friday and didn't tell them until the following Tuesday. Grace took it ok, but Atticus took it really hard and cried a lot. Poor little guy. It was actually a tough thing for me to hear too - it was our hope that we would go back. So, then at the end of April, the governor had a press conference that said Texas would start re-opening on May 1st. They allowed retail, movie theaters, and restaurants to open with 25% capacity. Some other openings regarding libraries and museums could be done with social distancing. Even church's could re-open with proper social distancing. Elective medical procedures and appointments could also be done. Then, we had another press conference that will be effective tomorrow, May 8th. Nail salons, hair places, and parks and beaches can open up. And then on May 18th, gyms, and places of business can open back up. Gyms are also at 25%. As we open up, they will hopefully increase those to more. But, the idea is that the economy is really struggling, so we need people to be able to work and have their lives again. So, that is what I know for now. This is the way to test the waters and see how it affects cases.
I think cases will definitely increase. People were SO excited to go out this past weekend. I even took Grace to 3 stores (while masked and she didn't touch anything except some books she wanted to buy and we antibacterial her after that). So, after having "0" new cases on many days in the past couple of weeks, we have now had 13, 10, 11 the past three days. Of course, they have a 14 day period of having symptoms before you might show them, so who knows whether that was from something from before the weeknd or during?
Not a lot will change for us. Vic is still going to work and doing most of the errands or grocery store trips. He is trying to be very careful. The kids and I have been to as many outdoor places as we can think of so far for "field trips". I can't take them anywhere in public with this stuff going on. But, we have decided to open up to a small circle of friends and test the waters that way. So, we have a playdate with 3 other mamas and their 1st grade daughters on Saturday. And Atticus has been playing with the neighbor boys for 4-5 hours a day outside the past 3 afternoons. We are just going to take things slowly and keep social distancing with everyone else and washing hands and trying to be safe. While we could absolutely hole up in our house, we also think that we should get out while we can because once cases increase again, we will want to sit tight at home again. It's a really tough situation to be in. I don't want to be arrogant and prideful and assume we are safe no matter what because I don't believe we are. But, I don't want to keep us from relationships and encouragement from others and people time for the next 18 months (until a vaccine is found) unless we have to. Of course we can if we have to, but if we can get snippets with others here and there, it will be better for our family.
On Monday, we had well checks for all 3 big kids. The doctor's office called the day after the governor's press conference and scheduled them. I thought now was probably the time to go while the case count was low around us. I talked to our pediatrician, Dr. Svendsen and she is super conservative about this situation. She said we must continue to social distance - NO friends, playdates, getting out just to get out, etc. and she said we WILL have a much worse wave of COVID-19 cases this fall. I came home in a fit of confusion and worries because 1) that sounds miserable and 2) I expect there to be more cases this fall, but not sure why we must worry about that right this minute. I expressed my concerns to my friend and she is on the other end of the spectrum with "we must start opening back up and we need to find our new normal". Well, I am in the middle and so is Vic. We have heard that it will be worse and think we need to prepare for it, but we also have hope that people will give their best effort in handling this and being cautious of spreading germs and we have hopes that summer heat will help kill the virus germs. And in hoping for these things, we are feeling ok about things opening back up in general. We feel like keeping a small circle of friends is something to try. So, I don't think we should say "oh well - let's go back to normal life" but I also don't think we should hole up in our houses for the next 18 months.
The tough part is that our President is not doing a good job of giving Americans encouragement and not doing a good job of leading us. Nobody knows what is right or wrong and nobody knows exactly what to do. It's all new territory. But, people just want to complain about the political part or take it upon themselves to make decisions because we don't have good enough leadership. And, it's tough. But, we can only do our very best for our families (at least that is my role as a stay at home mom) and that is what I have to do. I can't get caught up in the political part or arguing with people about it. I'm not scared anymore or have that anxious feeling of "what is happening on the outside world" but it is going to be constantly tough to just not know what is coming. Thankfully, Vic keeps up on everything and tells me the highlights. I am glad he still gets to go to work, but he's not super happy. Work is hard when you can't interact with people easily. And he reads SO much about it, that I think it bogs him down. So, I need to find ways to cheer him up more. He's not acting miserable or unhappy, but he's also not super enthusiastic about daily life. Good thing we have kids to keep us entertained. I found it funny because he said that there was nothing to look forward to, because we don't know what to expect and we can't do anything. And I get that so much; I just found it funny because I plan so many things and always have the next thing on our calendar and I didn't know he liked that so much and liked having so many things to look forward to. So, that made me feel good.
As far as family, I haven't heard from Dad lately. Mom is doing great and has gotten into planting plants and flowers and seems upbeat. I think Dad is doing fine; but work is work and it's tougher with their COVID-19 restrictions and new ways of doing things at the jail. GG is doing great too, but Melbo & Pa are not. Actually, Melbo is fine. Pa, however, fell a couple of weeks ago getting out of the "hoopie" and hurt his back terribly. He was in so much pain that he was throwing up because it hurt so much. And, he stopped eating much. And we know Pa loves to snack! GG finally got him to go to the doctor a week later and thankfully, Melbo could go in with him. He didn't want to go to the doctor, because if he was admitted to the hospital, nobody could go with him. He needs Melbo with him (or someone) to talk to the doctors, and emotionally support him. So, they did X-rays or scans or something and found a wedged/fractured/something in his back. He went to the back doctor the following day and they said that with his arthritis, he was going to always have some pain. But, in about 3 weeks, he should start to feel better. They gave him some pain medicine and told him to take it easy. Well, I checked with GG today and have not heard back, but I know as of yesterday, he is still not eating much and still in terrible pain. So, GG was going to talk to the doctor today. I just pray that he finds some relief and it will heal. At 93, it's hard to heal quickly. Ana & Charley are good too. We FaceTimed with them tonight but it was not the most fun. They are on the spectrum that we are opening too soon and that we need to be doing so much more and that our governments haven't done anything while we have been locked down. And while all that may be true, what can any of us do about it? I just can't worry about that stuff until I have to. It's hard and frustrating, but I don't have the answer and neither do they, so it's hard to converse about with them. They haven't been out in awhile. Ana was going to the store but now they just use InstaCart and have someone else shop for them and deliver it. They see Antonio & Natasha and their kids. But, otherwise, they don't get out. So, they are with the thoughts of everyone should be required to wear masks (which I have no problem with) and stay home much longer. I don't mind any of that if we needed to do it, but there has to be a plan to re-open at some point. It was just a frustrating conversation because I usually don't argue with anything when I don't agree (I just try to stay quiet), but I did tonight and I feel like they just think I'm dumb. I'm not dumb. I just have faith that God has this giant plan that is going to get us through it. I don't want to think we will get through unscathed, but I pray and have hope that it will end up better than so many people think.
It's also tough because there is SO much information out there on social media and of course, it's not all true, but who knows what is and what isn't? Anyways, Charley is busy getting a schedule together to let teachers back in to get their stuff. And Ana's newspaper place is opening up, but only if people need a place to work away from home. They really want people to stay at home, because their office space is tight and they can't socially distance. And, apparently, they are going crazy with cleaning after anyone who is there and doing it every 2 hours in addition to the cleaning company who comes in and it just all sounds very stressful. She's also stressed because her dad is not doing well apparently - he thinks he might have internal bleeding? Sounds awful! But, the bad part is that her mom does nothing in regard to calling the doctors office and dealing with all of this. Ana did it all back when her dad had his heart attack in August. And now, Ana has to do it again tomorrow and she really doesn't want to. She really wants her mom to handle this directly. But, she has to do it because her mom is super shy and anxious. I feel bad for both of them. I think taking care of your parents is something we have to do at some point, but I feel so much for her because I know it is a lot to shoulder and handle, all while raising a family and dealing with COVID-19 and trying to work at home.
So, our families are just handling this, all in different ways. I am feeling ok today. I'm sure it will change constantly as cases increase and more deaths occur. We have NO idea what to expect or plan for. I want Vic to stay healthy though - he is the strength of our family. And of course, I want us all to stay healthy. Dance classes are opening back up the week of the 18th which is exciting. The girls have been doing dance on zoom since they closed down. So, they get 2 studio classes and then get to do an outdoor recital on June 6th. And, then dance will be over. Grace said she doesn't want to do it anymore and it makes me sad because I've loved watching her dance. But, she is thinking about art classes instead. And I plan to sign Everly up for the fall, pending all of this COVID-19 stuff. Oh and also - preschool: I have no idea what to do about it yet. I think the wise choice is to keep them home. But, I really need Everly to learn her letters and some school things before Kindergarten. And, I have loved having preschool do that. I don't mind, and would enjoy it, but I've always had younger ones to make it tougher to concentrate on that. So, maybe Hazel will just have to learn her letters too! And, I was honestly looking forward to my 9 hours a week of no kids, which hasn't happened in almost 5 years, when I got pregnant with Everly. Of course, it is completely fine. And, we don't have to decide until later this summer as we see how things go. But, if it is going to be bad this fall/winter, I don't think I would feel like a good mom if I sent my two littles to an optional daycare program. I also fear that MOPS will not happen this year. Part of me would love to have a year of just being at home with my girls so we could have a normal routine together. But, there's lots of talk about public school and how that will go. Will they go half days? Will it be partly virtual and partly in person? Will they go every other day? So, nothing will be normal, as of now. But, at the same time, what if we got a vaccine or some other type of treatment medicine for COVID-19? Or what if something else occurred to help things out? We just don't know what to expect and it actually gives me lots of hope!
Okay, it's late and I should go to bed. Trying to walk 5 miles every day or close to it. So I need to wake up in 5.5 hours to do so! Here's a few quick pics of the last couple of weeks! And some of the schoolwork: Did you know I have taught Atticus perimeter and area of a shape? And I have taught Grace time and I have even learned a lot more about science (adaptations anyone?) than I remembered from long ago!
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