COVID thoughts

For awhile I honestly haven't thought that much about COVID.  We took our masks off as soon as the province said we could, and when you could finally go maskless in airports and on airplanes.  We were done with the masks, done!! We kept pretty healthy and even a few summer colds never really amounted to anything.  I knew we would get our boosters in the fall, similar to what we do with flu shots, and those boosters will be procured in the next week or so, with the flu shots to follow in November, but for the most part COVID is finally not a central thought of my life.  

Now that fall is here and people are inside more, I hear more people talking about it.  I'm not unsympathetic to their concerns but I feel as though I can't relate.  Maybe that is naive but it's how I feel.  I am cautious of getting sick, but I'm not afraid of COVID, and now since the same restrictions aren't in place about isolating, etc., then I know that even if we do get sick, it will be manageable.  We are behaving the same way we used when fall colds came around - being mindful of when sore throats start, trying to get extra rest and Vitamin C, getting out the humidifiers, and making hot toddies at night time. 

Now I've heard a couple of people suggest that we should all go back to wearing masks when indoors and the then schools will probably be bringing back mask mandates.  I am not in favour of that.  I know many people are donning their masks again but to what end?  Is it just for the fall/winter? For the rest of our lives? What? 

I'm not sure if any provincial government or municipality would entertain a mask mandate or lockdown measures again, I can't imagine that the majority of people would be supportive of that. 

Anyway, just checking in on this - are you feeling like you need to put your mask back on?  Is your level of concern greater than it was in the summer or have you moved on like me?

Pandemic Update

I haven't checked in on the pandemic front for awhile, and part of that is because it's been a few weeks since COVID has played any sort of central feature of our lives.  I know that people are still getting sick and we still have hospitalizations and even deaths being attributed to COVID.  I hear all of the time "COVID isn't over" and I guess I agree with that, but in a way it is over or at least it's just one of the many things we navigate in our lives, but no longer the main thing dominating the news and our day to day lives. 

Back in March, the mask mandate for indoor spaces was lifted in Toronto, and it was at that point that we took our masks off here.  We asked the kids if they wanted to keep wearing them and they didn't.  Now I will say that shortly after taking our masks off we all got COVID.  We believe it was from a kids' birthday party where there were about 60 people in a party room at at community centre, so not really surprising.  I do not regret our decision to take our masks off.  I felt like most places where the risk of contracting COVID was highest were places where we were still taking off our masks to eat and drink (like we were doing at the birthday party anyway) and the other places where we didn't remove our masks, like quick trips into the store where you're constantly moving around, the risk was lower anyway.  Plus I didn't know what else I was waiting for to take off my mask, so it was time for us.  I see many people still wearing them on a regular basis, even outside when they are walking alone, to each their own, everyone has a different risk tolerance. 

Mask are still required on transit, although I see more and more people each day who are not wearing masks.  Whenever I see someone on the subway without a mask, I think "did they change the rules? Did I miss something?" But no, they haven't changed the rules so I'll continue to wear it on transit for now.  The distancing stickers on the seats have been removed for awhile, although I find many people are still wanting to sit alone and put their bag on the seat next to them.  I do sit next to someone if there is an empty seat which I actually thinks makes more sense than cramming everyone into the aisles to stand.  

For the most part, COVID is not affecting my day to day life, and isn't that great! On the days I work from home or bike to work, I don't need to wear a mask at all, and the kids don't need to do any health check forms to go to school.  Most people I speak to are pretty unconcerned with COVID and for the most part I'm just overhearing people talk about getting COVID and how their symptoms were pretty mild.  Dave had to test to go to Chicago a few weeks ago, but I'm going away this weekend to Montreal and it's nice to know I don't have to think about testing.  Hopefully the testing requirements for other countries will be lifted soon.

Now I'm not naïve to think COVID has actually gone away for good or will ever completely disappear.  We may be faced with some other variant in the fall that makes us take a step back, but I have to believe we are in a place where "normal life" can resume.  I definitely see more people making their way downtown to work, although certainly not to pre-pandemic levels.  We have a hybrid work policy where everyone goes in three days a week, and I know other offices have the same sort of thing but still many where employees aren't needed to come in on any regular basis so far.  It will be interesting to see how numbers of people downtown look in the fall. 

Our provincial election is today and our current premier Doug Ford and his Conservatives certainly faced a lot of criticism on their management (or mismanagement, depending on who you talk to) of the pandemic and although I did not vote for him (last time or this time), I honestly don't know how else we were supposed to handle it.  Our long term care homes definitely suffered and our health care system was stressed (both of which are under provincial jurisdiction) but were there any better decisions that could have been made at the time we were in the thick of it all, I don't know the answer.  We'll see how Ontario feels about it all.  I have a feeling Doug will be back for a second term, but that will probably be it. 

Last year I wrote about COVID habits to keep (click here) and I think I still agree.  Although I don't really care about how many people are in the stores. 

Pandemic Update

I like to check in every few months to give an update on how the pandemic is where we live (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) since it seems to vary so widely depending on your jurisdiction.  Can I just say again that who thought we would be "flattening the curve" within those three weeks in March 2020, and we are still here two years later with COVID remaining such a big part of our daily lives?! 

Ontario is back in a "modified" Stage 2 which means no indoor dining, no gyms, indoor capacity limits, remote work, and no indoor sports/lessons (for us that means virtual piano and no swimming).  School was also moved to virtual for the first two weeks in January.  The kids were supposed to go back on Monday but we've had two snow days this week instead.  

Before Christmas (and the arrival of Omicron), I was over Covid!  I was ready to socialize, travel, and go back to normal (with masks inside if that's what it took).  We had our Christmas party and my parents visited from Nova Scotia.  We were even planning to go to Hawaii.  Then case counts were skyrocketing and it required a bit more vigilance.  Our trip was postponed for us, so we didn't have a choice of whether to go or not, but I still wanted to go.  It seemed as though many other people were travelling so I was willing to take my chances.  

Now that school is going back and the still have their weekly ski lessons, then I don't feel as though our lives are too disrupted by the current situation. I like to go out to eat at restaurants, but we don't do that too much in the winter anyway, so I'm not that bothered.  I do wish we could go inside the ski chalet, but we manage.  I know I am lucky because I don't work in a hospital or need to access health care on a regular basis so I don't really see the burnout that others are facing.  With the case numbers not being reported anymore and being at home with the kids anyway, I feel very isolated to what is happening in other parts of the world. 

 For the first time since the pandemic began I know several people that have contracted Covid in the last month.  We have remained healthy so far.  I've heard different things, like we are all going to get Covid, we just need to make sure we don't get it all at once.  And also that we don't all have to get it if we can implement the right health measures. We are all as vaccinated as you can get at our house and I don't know what else we can really do.  We wear our masks and spend most of our time with people outside. I've been avoiding the subway but I'm going to go on it this week. 

With everyone going back to school as of today, we will just have to watch for symptoms.  We have a few antigen tests leftover from the kits they gave to the kids before Christmas.  We used a few around the time when our parents were coming to visit and a couple of times when we felt a little off.  I've heard that antigen tests aren't always reliable, but we have always tested negative and any small symptoms have gone away quickly so I don't think we have actually been infected. 

At this point, I'm not sure what I'm hoping for, I feel as though we are in a bit of holding pattern.  We have a trip to Jamaica planned for next month so I guess I'm just hoping we remain healthy to get on the plane (there and back).  If it works out that we can go, then it will be a much needed and appreciated break for all of us.  We also have a ski trip planned for March Break to Quebec. We will drive there and are renting an AirBnb so as long as we are symptom free then we should be able to get there and back no problem.  By that time, Spring will be here and Spring has always proven to be a shift in attitudes and health measures (for the better), and we carry on. 

Back to Normal?

I haven't done a Covid related update for a few months so I wanted to fill you in on how things are going in my city and for us.   Ontario is currently in Phase 2 of its reopening plan - this has meant outdoor dining, outdoor fitness, larger gatherings of people (including inside!), and greater capacity at stores (including non-essential retail).  On Friday we enter Phase 3 (earlier than planned) so there will be more indoor activities available.  We don't know what is beyond Phase 3 but the Province is working on something.  The Atlantic provinces are letting fully vaccinated people in without quarantine, so that's good news for us since my family lives there.  The US/Canada border is still closed for non-essential travel but Canadians (citizens or permanent residents) travelling back to Canada do not have to quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated.  

Dare I say that I feel pretty close to being back to normal?  It feels cautiously optimistic, and I know there are still many restrictions, but for us, we have been able to resume some of our normal practices:

The kids are at camps for most of the summer - day camps for Q and a mix of overnight and day for E. Soccer has started for Q and baseball for E.  They are both tamed down versions of what would be a regular season, but at least they get to play.

I have been going into the office, and taking the subway, for a few days per week and there are other people at my office!  

Dave has the house to himself during the day with all of us gone, and he gets a few rounds of golf per week.

We have family scheduled to visit throughout the summer and we have trips down East booked for September.

We had a friend over on the weekend and we are invited to someone's house tomorrow night.

Normal right? 

Well, I still haven't gone to Homesense (!), cut my hair, gotten a pedicure, or gone to the gym (opening tomorrow), but I'm not in a big rush to do those things.  I'm glad they are available for other people though.  Mostly I am happy we have options now.  It is not mandatory to be in my office yet so Dave, a perennial worker from home, wondered why I would want to go in if I didn't have to.  For a long time I didn't have anywhere to really go, and even when I had to pop down to my office for something, I felt like it was a burden to leave the kids at home, and I was nervous (pre-vaccine) to be inside for long periods of time.  Now I have the freedom and option to go somewhere other than my home.  Dave has the golf course so that's his destination and the kids have camps/sports.  I felt sequestered in my little space and I'm glad to get out.  I have never really minded my commute downtown so I'm fine to be back on the subway with my uninterrupted reading time (about 30 minutes each way), and there are less people travelling so I get a seat most of the time.  I also appreciate the ability to walk across the hall at my office to talk to someone or go out for lunch with a colleague.  

At the same time, I realize that this could all be like last summer where we were met with another wave of Covid in the fall, and the variants out there seem to be doing some damage.  I'm hoping that the positive vaccine rate in Canada continues, that people who are vaccine hesitant change their minds and get the shot(s) (I'm looking at you 50% of Americans, we want to open our borders, but not if it's too risky), and that people still wear their masks in close public spaces.  We need to stay vigilant and I hope our government remembers to balance that caution with the urge to open everything up completely.  

That being said, I do hope the Blue Jays get to come back to Toronto for the rest of their season; we will get tickets and I will probably cry. Am I right, Natasha?!

Friday Favourites

Things must be picking up, I feel like I have a lot to share for this Friday Favourites post when other weeks I did not have anything. 

For my birthday last week I received two lovely curated gift boxes.  One was from my parents and the other from my friend in Prince Edward Island.

Present Day Gifts - Lots of goodies here, including a new plant for my "office". I haven't opened the gin yet, but I will this weekend, everything else has been sampled.  Thanks Mom and John!

And these Island treats from The Preserve Company. The coffee is from a cafe in Charlottetown and although I haven't been there for a few years now, I have been to that cafe.  We have tried most of the other things already and it's all delicious.  We are going to make some chicken wings soon to try the hot sauce, "Giv'er".  Thanks Cindy!

The other day Q said he was "bored" during breakfast so I suggested they turn their pancakes into pirates (we had seen this on a cartoon and I had saved a photo).

Q was more impressed than he shows in this photo.

We went to the school to pick up anything the kids had left behind, which wasn't much but it was also an excuse to see their classrooms.

I took my paddle board out on the Humber River on Tuesday evening.  E and I paddled down the river while Dave took Q for a run in the running stroller.  We met up with them on the shore and I took Q back and E went with Dave.  It was a bit windy but fine.  This will be a fun hobby!

I got my second vaccine this week too!  I had Astra-Zeneca the first time and I opted for an MRNA one this time, and got Moderna.  Dave and E were golfing so I had to take Q with me but it was a quick in and out with my appointment so it wasn't a big deal to bring him along.  Selfie or it didn't happen!

Big weekend ahead - US Open Golf, F1 race, Father's Day, and promised hot weather. 

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Friday Favourites

Happy Friday!  We've made it through another week of virtual school!  Some days were better than others, as usual, but it's Friday so let's just remember the better days.

 

I'm sure many of you have seen this gum commercial by Extra, but in case you haven't seen it, here you go.  What I really appreciated was the choice of Celine Dion song.

Watching some TV with E on Tuesday night.  On Monday I posted about some things my kids are into now, and one of those is the Mighty Ducks show on Disney, which we watched on this night.

We did some classes outside this week including on Cinco de Mayo when Q's class drew some sombreros and piñatas, and then he chose a Baby Yoda picture to draw too.

E has been hitting golf balls all week, sometimes early before school or after supper.  

The audience and ball picker upper.

A little break outside between classes in a fort with all of the stuffies.

When your food delivery bags double as Trollhunter masks.

A friend dropped off a little gift to me this week, which was so thoughtful.  She picked it up at our fitness studio's boutique. 

We've got this friends, even on the hard days!

A Happy Mother's Day to everyone celebrating that this weekend.  My wishes are simple, I'd just like someone to bring me a coffee :)

Linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favourites!

Covid Habits to Keep

I know we are still missing out on so much - family time, travelling, restaurants, etc. - but there are some things that I hope will continue on even after we can lift some of these restrictions.  Now to be clear, I am not an overly social person like others may be, I don't love being in huge groups of people, and I don't like a lot of attention. I like to do things a certain way without being bothered by things I don't like.  Sometimes I don't feel like talking to anyone, which is why living in Toronto is perfect for me since I can be anonymous if I want to be.  So for me, this list is for things I would like to continue, but I'm sure other people feel differently.  

Cleaning my hands more.  I did not used to be as diligent at washing my hands as I am now, and when I think back, it's kind of gross.  I used to take the subway to work and touch a few surfaces on the way into my office, and then go to my desk and eat something without washing my hands. Yuck!

Not hugging as much.  Hugging is appropriate in some situations, but I also think there was too much of it before. I just met you, why are we hugging? (Dave, on the other hand, cannot get enough hugs.) 

Contactless delivery.  Just leave the food, we don't need to have an interaction. I'll tip the delivery person but I don't like the awkward encounter at the door.  

Reduced people in stores.  I'm thinking of places like the meat market or fish store where you need to be served by the person behind the counter.  With less people going in at a time, then it's clear who is first and there is no one cutting the line (on purpose or inadvertently).

Options to attend church, workouts, meetings virtually.  I definitely want to go back to these places in person at some point, but I would also love the option to attend from home if I need to.  Some Sunday mornings, there isn't enough energy to get everyone dressed up and out the door, but I may still want to view the service.  Part of these experiences is definitely the in-person camaraderie, but sometimes I just want the content itself.

Beer delivery.  It's great to just get a few dozen beer delivered right to your door and having a good supply rather than having to make various trips to the LCBO or Beer Store.

Outdoor parties.  I mentioned last week that my cleaning hack is to invite people over for dinner so I am forced to clean the house.  However, I also like that we can (or could and will again) have people over to hang out in the backyard with no expectation that they would be going into the house.  Fortunately we have a nice backyard so it works for us, 

Flexible work arrangements. I do want to go back to my office downtown, and will look forward to subway rides, various lunch options, and seeing actual people, but I would also appreciate days when I could work from home without any questions being asked. (And to be fair, I do work in a place where working from home occasionally was fine, but the expectation was to be in the office.)

Doctor visits by phone/email.  For some visits, clearly going into the office is necessary but sometimes you just need a prescription refill, test results, or a doctor's note and you don't want to have to go all the way into the office for a visit that lasts minutes.  A quick phone call or email does the trick.

Vaccines for 40+

I don't turn 40 until June (let's not age me unnecessarily) but I am eligible for a vaccine here in Ontario now.  We have our appointments for later next week, although we are also on a number of waiting lists at the various local pharmacies so it may happen before then.  The offer to our age group is the Astra Zeneca vaccine. A few comments about how I feel about this:

I am absolutely for vaccines of any kind and I am not bothered by the possibility of any side effects, including blood clots.  Now that the variants are here, and affecting people my age more seriously, I will take the first one offered.

I saw a few people wondering if we should be getting the vaccine when there are other higher risk people that are still unvaccinated.  Although I did hesitate for a minute, I know that it will help to have any and all people vaccinated so if I can get it, I should get it.  I do appreciate that many people were even questioning their eligibility. But what I know to be true is that you need to look after yourself, you can't expect anyone else to do it for you.  So although the government could have done a better job of prioritizing those higher risk groups, they have opened it up to me, and I'll take it.

I was feeling like I hit the pandemic wall last week, and vaccines seemed a long way off for me, so when this news was released, I instantly felt better.  Then I kept hearing in my head the chorus from the hymn, "My Soul Cries Out" (Mom, it's in More Voices):

Wipe away all tears,

For the dawn draws near,

And the world is about to turn.

Also, I have been chuckling at the tweets I've seen about the 40+ crowd (some of you will get these jokes):

- If you watched Jem and the Holograms on TV when it aired, you may be eligible for the vaccine. 

- If you completed OAC (Grade 13) classes, you may be eligible for the vaccine (I didn't grow up in Ontario, but if I had, I would have been one of the last OAC classes).

- Someone bring Big Shiny Tunes Vol. 1-3 to the vaccine line.

- If you wanted to go to Woodstock '94 but couldn't and wisely decided not to go to Woodstock '99, you may be eligible for the vaccine.

- If you saw I Mother Earth pre-Edwin leaving the bank, you may be eligible for the vaccine. 

- Haven't seen this many members of Gen X excited to get shots since "Home for a Rest" came on at the last wedding I went to.

- If you have a borrowed copy of "Jagged Little Pill" you may be eligible for the vaccine. 

- This vaccine appointment race reminds me of the good old days logging into the city of Toronto website via four devices at 7 am to sign my toddler up for swimming.

- If the Hip played at your frosh week, you're eligible for the vaccine. 

- If you made mixtapes by recording songs off the radio on your cassette player, you're eligible.

- If you tuned into Much Music for the music, you may be eligible for the vaccine.

- If you rushed home from school to watch Video Hits, you may be eligible for the vaccine. 

- If you regularly took a peanut butter sandwich to school, you may be eligible for the vaccine. 

- 1981 babies:

If you know, then you know.  Ontario friends, let's get it!

Friday Favourites

We had some warm weather this week (I guess this is Spring of Deception since we are supposed to get snow agin next weekend)...

...but I spotted some signs of spring.  Some white flowers poking up in our front garden on Monday.  I also saw a robin on Thursday morning, first of many I'm sure.

I wrote about our quick stop at the library on the weekend and the books we picked up have been favourites. 

On Wednesday morning the boys took it upon themselves to make smoothie bowls for everyone.  They put it together on their own and managed the blender too (I was working out downstairs and aware of what they were up to but knew they were fine, Dave was still sleeping).  Q got a photo of E as proof of their work.

They even got the perfect swirl.  And they cleaned everything up before I came back upstairs. 

So yummy!

We have been enjoying the curling at the Brier this week.  There are so many great teams this year, and lots of fun to watch.  I have a few favourites, but especially glad to see Wayne Middaugh curling so well (he's the ripe old age of 53, hah!).

Another highlight of this week has certainly been the fallout from the Meghan and Harry interview with Oprah.  I am fascinated by it all. I wrote about why I love the Royal Family here.  I feel like they have an opportunity here (one they did not take advantage of when they should have) and I do hope it turns out for the best.  

Yesterday I looked back over the past year of the pandemic. What a year it has been!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Covid - One year later

 A little recap of our time since the coronavirus came into our lives. Settle in.

January 2020 - We travelled to Hawaii and thought nothing of the virus.  I knew about it and that it had rumblings of being a problem, but since SARS never turned into a global pandemic, then that sort of outcome wasn't even on my radar.  At that time we were thinking about the forest fires in Australia and the Ukrainian flight shot down in Iran. 

I did see that the Coronavirus was becoming a bigger problem in China so I started to pay attention.  I saved the Johns Hopkins tracking tool on my computer and checked it everyday.

I travelled to Timmins for work in the week of January.  I wore a mask on the plane because I had a bad cough and I didn't want people to be suspicious of me.  I saw very few people with a mask at the airport. 

I started thinking about how our business (mining construction) might be impacted if the coronavirus really took off.  People at my office didn't seem too concerned. It also seemed inconceivable that governments in Canada could impose any sort of lockdown restrictions like we were seeing in (Communist) China at this time.

February 2020 - I admit that other than trying to wash my hands more and trying not to touch anything on the subway (which I always tried to do anyway), I didn't think too much about the virus.  However I did think to get extra toilet paper and we started stocking up on extra food, just in case.  My cough was still with me and I did end up getting a chest x-ray but no evidence of a major problem so I was prescribed a puffer, nasal spray, and sinus wash and eventually I got better. 

We had dinner with our friends at the end of February.  We talked about the virus since our friend is an infectious disease doctor.  Dave and I were kind of flippant about it, and Mark said this is going to be a big deal, what we saw happening in Italy was going to happen here, so we were quickly sobered to that thought and realized we should be thinking more about this.  Interestingly we were crammed into the restaurant we ate at that night, Nodo. I believe the last time we ate out at a restaurant before the first lock down.

March 2020 - We had a trip planned for Jamaica, departing March 20.  We started wondering if we should go, and went back and forth and whether it would be okay.  My parents had a Northern European cruise booked for April and at this point were still thinking they would be going on that cruise.  And then of course things just shut down, and I think it was the shut down of the NBA that really got things going.  It was like, "whoa, if they are shutting down major sports, this is a big deal!".  Then it was announced that the kids would have two more weeks off from school after March Break.  We thought, "What are we going to do with them for three weeks!?!" (how naïve we were). 

We made the decision to cancel our trip to Jamaica, which of course became a moot point when travel became restricted shortly thereafter.  We thought about when we would try to reschedule, the friends we were travelling with thought about May and we thought we would go in November. Obviously, this trip has yet to be rescheduled. 

I attended an in-person fitness class on Saturday, March 14 and remember thinking, "I don't think I should be here".  I also went to the office on Monday, March 16, but drove in instead of taking the subway.  I remember packing up my things and knowing it would be awhile before I returned.  Even though I have gone in a handful of times since then, a permanent return to the office is still a long way off.

My work carried on throughout this time as our business was declared essential, and we had to deal with lots of different challenges, like travel for our employees to remote mine sites, and making sure we were doing everything possible to keep people safe. 

We stayed home, other than some hikes, and we stayed away from others.  

April to June 2020 - School and daycare remained closed and online school started for E.  Work was also very busy as we tried dealing with the pandemic's implications on our business.   It was a stressful time of juggling work obligations and the kids being home.  What I found most exhausting is that I was thinking about Covid all of the time.  It was just a constant theme in everything and I didn't even know what I was worried about after awhile - was it my own chances of getting sick, what was socially acceptable behaviour, whether we would ever get back to normal, how the kids were doing, etc. and that of course on top of all of the other regular worries.

The online set up for E wasn't great so I mostly just yelled at him to get his work done.  And we tried not to have too much TV time for Q, but that's often how it worked out.  We did try to get outside most days and that was helpful.  We left the city for the first time in months and went camping at Sandbanks at the end of June.  

July and August 2020 - There were very few options for summer camps, but we did get E to a soccer camp and a couple of golf camps.  Work was slightly less busy so I could balance a bit better.  I also started getting up early to work before anyone else got up.  That freed up some more time during the day to entertain the kids.  At the end of the summer I realized that my parents were not going to be able to come for Christmas so that was sad, but we knew that even though vaccines were being developed, they would not be ready for Christmas and so no travel for my parents.  Also Nova Scotia was not going to lift their mandatory 14 day quarantine anytime soon, so travelling there wasn't an option either.

September 2020 - The kids finally returned to school and it was wonderful.  Even with the masks, daily health screenings, and other measures, it was great for them to be back in the building.  And Q was starting Junior Kindergarten.  Q had a runny nose and E had a stomach bug so we got tested for Covid and had a few days off of school.  It was a little confusing about the rules for testing, staying home, new versus existing symptoms, but we figured it out.  We had a small backyard birthday party for Q with our neighbours.  We were able to eat outside at restaurants and that was lovely.  

October 2020 - We had to deal with some isolation days home from school for E since there were two cases of the school with whom he was a close contact.  His teacher did a fabulous job of online learning and I saw a marked difference from the previous school year.   We still kept quite close to home and we did have the neighbour kids in our house, but no one else.  E was able to have a small indoor birthday party with three close friends (from his class) and we felt comfortable with that.  Traditional trick or treating was cancelled in Toronto but we organized our neighbourhood so if people wanted to they could put treats outside for the kids to pick up in the early evening and that was fun.

November and December 2020 - We saw the cases rising again in Ontario and we knew we would be in for a long winter.  Toronto was locked down in late November and we stopped having people over to hang out inside. Thankfully school remained open and we were fine to stay at home the rest of the time.  We spent Christmas alone since having a second household of Dave's parents coming to visit was not permitted in the lock down zone of Toronto.

January to March 2021 - And then school remained closed after the holiday break, and the kids were back home for virtual school. Although we were a bit more organized than we had been in the springtime, it was still a lot to manage. Q is in Junior Kindergarten so he had online school but his attention span was short and he needed me to sit with him in order for him to participate.  We put in a good effort but we peaced out early most days.  E's teacher was phenomenal and he was able to do his classes and work independently.  We were extremely grateful that classes resumed in mid-February.  Toronto only just recently moved from the Stay At Home order to the Grey Zone.  March Break was pushed to April, so I'm hoping that the cases will level off (as they have started climbing again) and the kids will be able to return to school for the rest of the term and that summer camps will be available.

I saw an Instagram poll earlier this week that asked if you felt Sad or Grateful about being a year into this pandemic.  It didn't really occur to me to feel sad, I know we have missed out on a lot of things (seeing family from away, travel, sports, extra-curricular school activities, real time interaction with people outside of our family of four, enjoying our city's offerings, etc.) but we have all remained healthy, we have enjoyed many things that would not have happened if not for staying home.  When I do start to get disappointed I remember that the bible shows us many instances of people being alone and isolated and that God used that time to prepare them for something greater.  They were able to meet God in new and unexpected ways, so I am hoping that is what this time will prove to be for me.

So I suppose you could say I am Grateful for this time and I will be grateful for the opportunities that come out of this, for changing our habits, and appreciating all those blessings we will get to return to once we can safely do so.  This has been quite the time to live through and although we try to make comparisons to other times in our history, this is unique.  We have been extremely fortunate and I know that is not how it has been for everyone.  We kept our jobs and did not have to work outside the home, we have reliable internet so we could connect on our various platforms with ease, and we have a comfortable and safe home.  I know that staying home was not really to protect ourselves but to do our part to help protect others, the ones that can't stay at home and the ones that are much more vulnerable than we are.

Also remember this isn't over, we have to keep going for now, wear your mask (or two!), stay distance, avoid big crowds, and wash your hands. 

Lock Down Update

Every few months I have updated you with how things are going at our house as we live through this pandemic. In November I wrote about how we mask. In October I wrote about what our "new normal" was, with the kids being back at school, but with still many restrictions in place. In September and June I shared other updates. 

As you know, we live in the City of Toronto.  We typically have the highest rates of Covid-19 cases and deaths in Ontario (and I guess by extension in Canada). We therefore have been the last ones to have restrictions lifted and the first ones to have restrictions added back on. I know that our Mayor and Premier are trying to balance various interests, and I do not envy this difficult task.  We want to keep stores, restaurants, gyms, theatres, and other places of business running, we want students to be able to learn in person at school, not at home, and we want to keep everyone safe and our hospitals not overwhelmed. Unfortunately the cases have been steadily climbing since the end of the summer, so it means that something isn't working. 

So now we are in a province-wide lock-down, but aside from the kids being home from school, this isn't too different from mid-November when Toronto went into its own lockdown with retail stores and (all on premises dining at) restaurants having to close down again. One would think that the stronger language used by the government to get people to stay home would help, but I don't think it's doing much.  I think for the people already following the rules (going out for food and exercise only, wearing masks even outside when a 2 metre distance can't be maintained), and staying away from people who aren't in your household (exceptions for people who live alone of course), then we are going to keep doing those things, and the rest of the "rule-breakers" may slightly change their behaviour but will likely keep doing what they want.  

Virtual schooling is a struggle but I know we can get through it.  Working from home with the kids here will keep happening, but it will mean getting up early and working after supper.  Planning ahead for meals and grocery shopping to limit trips already happens here anyway.  The boys have played with friends at the playground but we aren't inviting people over, even to hang out outside.  

We are in it for the long haul as it will be several months before enough people are vaccinated and we can truly say the pandemic is over. Our parents may get it earlier, but Dave and I will be some of the later people to get it (we are "young", healthy, and we are not essential workers).  But we know we are very lucky to be safe in our home, with much of our family living in safer places than we are, and no one in long term care.  As the weather warms up and more people are vaccinated into the spring, then we can hope for some more activities and more opportunities to see friends and family.  

I have heard two things recently about being isolated, having to change our behaviour and evaluating what is important.  One was a story about Chris Hadfield (thanks Mark), our Canadian astronaut, who said while he was struggling in space, often alone, it forced him to work away at his values, bringing them into focus, and figuring out what was really important.  When he returned to Earth he had a better sense of who he was and how that translated to his work and relationships with family and friends.

The other is from the bible (thanks Narci), where there are many figures who spent time alone (Jesus, Elijah, and others).  In all of those instances isolation was vital in God's process in preparing their lives for something better.  They met God in new and unexpected ways.  A different way to look at this time.