Day? 9? 10? I don't know anymore.
Back to Thursday, March 12th. That day was a cascade of everything canceling and closing. It was crazy. Every website for a business that you checked had some sort of COVID-19 pop-up or disclaimer. I knew shit had gotten real when I realized that Hilton and IHG hotels were waiving their cancellation polices and letting people get refunds even on non-refundable rates. It was one of those surreal experiences where everything was happening so fast, each closure more shocking than the next. I think THAT has been my overarching crazy feeling about this entire time - my ability to remain surprised every time that something has happened. One would think that we'd all get used to it but when all of our societal norms have been stripped away, one by one, it's been shocking every single time. The sports all canceled or postponed seasons. Which bled all the way into high school athletics here in Texas.
Another place that I'd like to backtrack to. When the rodeo cancelled, that cascaded everything else here locally. We were asked to pull up all our student travel contracts. The Board planned an emergency meeting in which they revoked all permissions for student travel indefinitely. Because we were about to go on Spring Break, this was quite a few trips. The District also gave all administrators forms for us to fill out of anywhere we were going over the break, if it were international. I was pretty salty because we had people that were traveling domestically to places where they were more likely to get it than me going to Cozumel. Anyway, I'd like to go back and tell past me to not even worry about filling out the stupid paperwork.
We worked all day in between watching press conferences and staying informed on the seemingly endless list of closures. Right before the end of the day, most of the school districts that had been out on Spring Break that week canceled classes for the following week. I felt like things were imminent for us. I can't remember when I got the call but it must have been shortly after Owen and I got home because when I picked him up, I remember telling the after care girls good bye because who knew when we'd all see each other again. All of that was a half joke, so it's crazy what has come to pass since then.
HISD called - it was official, classes canceled at least until March 31.
At that point, mom asked if we wanted to go to Moderno. Uh, hell yes, margaritas were 100% needed. I had no idea at that point that it would be the last time we'd be dining in a restaurant in community with our neighbors for a long time. I think we all were shellshocked but also just in disbelief. Others showed up at the restaurant as we were there. That was when school closed at Spring Branch, too, so I think basically every private school in our area closed. There were no sports on the TVs. It was just a crazy time to be in a restaurant. I remember feeling like, yes, we needed to do this and be in that moment but also, isn't school closed so we'll all stay home? Terms like social distancing, self-quarantine, isolation, etc. were just being really introduced into my vocabulary and despite that I was probably MUCH more informed than the average bear, I still had no idea what I was doing. Things I remember - telling Owen his school concert was canceled. His reaction was, OH, that's ok, we will still have Field Day on Friday. Telling him that Field Day was also canceled and his confusion. I think he said, OH, that's ok, we're still going to Cozumel. Welcome to your 2020 Year of Disappointments, kid. We're all invited to the same shitty party. Telling him the Astros wouldn't be playing for awhile either was also a totally crappy parenting moment.
We went home, I'm pretty sure we had another drink and watched the news. I can't remember if I cried that day or not. I remember being SO upset when the rodeo canceled. Then all the sports. Then our trip. Everything we had been planning for months for over the next several months. I was overwhelmed. I'm still overwhelmed days later. Our entire way of life, and especially the things that my family enjoys, all gone in the blink of an eye. At some point, they decided that we should go into the office the next day. I told my boss I would be staying home with Owen. Adam made plans to work from home, as he'd been traveling all over the country that week. At that point, I remember thinking, please just let him not get sick. I can't remember what night it was but before bed, he asked what our plan would be if one of us did get sick. I barely slept because I had nightmares of us getting COVID-19 all night long.
More tomorrow.
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