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Forgive me for some rambling thoughts I am having this morning. But a year ago today life (in the USA and everywhere else perhaps on a bit of a different timeline) as we knew it changed.
Today on this date last year, my DH was recovering from TKR surgery in January and we were heading to his Physical Therapy session when we heard that Broadway was now shut down and chools closed, and professional and college sports leagues suspended their seasons.
I remember B had texted us St Patty's was going on next week as scheduled. I said to Greg absolutely not. Greg was disappointed we couldn't do the annual St Patty's Day pub crawl that we had been doing for many decades. Greg had been doing it 42 years straight with his college buddies (started in Boston) and the tradition had continued in NYC. March 2020 was the first year he missed. Turns out B had to cancel it because the mayor came to his senses and closed everything down so no pub crawl anywhere.
Last year on this date was the day I realized everything as we knew it had changed. Just like that. Two months prior I had never even heard of Coronavirus. I had no clue it existed. I was (as were many) blissfully unaware. Just that February we had attended Swan Lake at Lincoln Center. Greg's first outing after his total knee replacement surgery. Little did we realize this was the last live performance of anything we were going to enjoy for a long time.
We continued with Greg's PT til the center shut down.
We started stocking up on cat food and started searching for paper towels and lysol and yes, toilet paper.
Good times.
No one was wearing a mask yet but for a few. We were blindly accepting the politician's saying no need for a mask. Until I realized nope there was a big need and we started searching for masks and in the meantime Greg sewed a few for us and for our neighbors too.
My very first mask.
Greg getting the mail back in the end of March 2020. #funny/notfunny
One bright spot. We adopted Gracie in March. Despite the pandemic. She needed a home desperately as she had been going from foster to foster and it wasn't going well for her. The head of the Brooklyn rescue group contacted us knowing we were thinking about adopting another to help Oliver and give him a young playmate so he could stop running after Tommy. Anyway pandemic adoption of Gracie ensued.
Greg sewing masks.
Signs going up in our neighborhood and everywhere just like this one.
Heartwarming stories alongside heartbreaking ones sharing experiences of loved ones dying from Covid 19. Each day on the news the governors read long lists of people who died and the loved ones affected. Lists that seemed miles long.
The horror.
Our MD friends showing us how they were protecting themselves.
And Gracie's expression at all the masks priceless.
Yes, it seemed the world had gone mad and "normal" was a long way away...
We decided to get new rings to wear that would be easier to wear and disinfect during the pandemic.
Somehow the world seemed OK when we could add a bit of bling.
We still continued our daily walks in Brooklyn but this time we were wearing masks and crossing the street when we saw other people. We stopped hugging friends and stopped contact with others as we knew it. I remember my dear friend M had come home early from her trip in March because of Covid and we hugged and then realized what had we just done. We felt like we committed a crime or worse yet made a deadly mistake. We walked that day but uneasily and we stayed a bit apart as we walked.
In a matter of days literally we went from this during our daily walks:
To this:
Yup life had changed as we knew it and slowly but surely it was dawning on us that everything had to be carefully considered and deliberated and approached with common sense and caution. One mistake could be a life ending mistake.
Maybe that sounds dramatic but for me that is how it felt. I was listening to both Cuomo and Murphy and my heart felt like it was breaking a thousand times over hearing all those who had died. Each day. From Covid 19. The hospitals were filling up fast and ICUs were over run and the situation was dire.
We endured. The days and months to follow. We made the best of it.
We took the cats and headed to the beach house mid May where we felt we could walk more easily and unencumbered and where we could get groceries more easily. Where life was a bit quieter. I realized many/most did not have that option to pick up and go elsewhere away from the urban environment and I felt grateful. But worried for everyone. So worried. My parents, my sister and nieces, my friends, my fellow humans. What was going to happen? How would it all play out?
The days went by in a blur. Days became weeks and weeks became months. In the meantime Greg had two more kidney stone surgeries during Covid 19. I couldn't wait there for him at the hospital because of Covid. I was home wringing my hands worrying. And then in December a cancer diagnosis. And another surgery followed. And again I had to wait at home alone. While my husband underwent an eight hour surgery at Lenox Hill. I was a wreck. Waiting and scared. Thank you to my friends and you know who you are who made that time bearable for me. Greg came through with flying colors thankfully.
And the months became a year and here we are a full year plus later. Looking back it all seemed to go in slow motion at times but also in a whirlwind. Opposites held true. So fast though quite slow. Sad but grateful. Worried yet hopeful. Scared but strong and courageous because there was no other choice. And so on and so forth. A huge mix of emotions. And a presidential election during this time. A huge change. So much happening. Brightness in the dark.
We continued walking most days. In the woods, in the parks and on the beaches. No matter the weather. Sun, snow, rain, freezing temps, warmer temps we made it out most days. Anything to get out of the house and breathe some fresh air. On the days we couldn't we stayed home and played cards or board games or both. Did some reading and chatted with friends via phone. Making connections any way we could but in person.
We had an outdoor backyard physical distancing visit with my parents. In August. Still haven't been able to hug them since 2019. But hopefully one day soon. That visit in August meant so much to both Greg and me. Greg's mother died in June 2020 and it was so sad because we didn't get to hug her goodbye. We couldn't hug our family members.
Through it all hope held strong no matter how awful and scary hope was the beacon of light shining through. In world record speed vaccines had been developed. Successful vaccines. Life saving vaccines. And the world was getting vaccinated one person at a time. Life seemed sweeter and better than it had been for a long time. Soon everyone who wants to will be able to get vaccinated. Something to celebrate indeed.
We held on and we continue to do so. Much further than we had been last year and finally the proverbial light at the end of a long dark tunnel. No, we are not out of it yet but we are well on our way. Hold on. We are almost there.
Thank you for allowing me to share some rambling stream of consciousness disorganized thoughts with you this morning.
Please share some of your thoughts if you are in the mood. One year plus later.
Today on this date last year, my DH was recovering from TKR surgery in January and we were heading to his Physical Therapy session when we heard that Broadway was now shut down and chools closed, and professional and college sports leagues suspended their seasons.
I remember B had texted us St Patty's was going on next week as scheduled. I said to Greg absolutely not. Greg was disappointed we couldn't do the annual St Patty's Day pub crawl that we had been doing for many decades. Greg had been doing it 42 years straight with his college buddies (started in Boston) and the tradition had continued in NYC. March 2020 was the first year he missed. Turns out B had to cancel it because the mayor came to his senses and closed everything down so no pub crawl anywhere.
Last year on this date was the day I realized everything as we knew it had changed. Just like that. Two months prior I had never even heard of Coronavirus. I had no clue it existed. I was (as were many) blissfully unaware. Just that February we had attended Swan Lake at Lincoln Center. Greg's first outing after his total knee replacement surgery. Little did we realize this was the last live performance of anything we were going to enjoy for a long time.
We continued with Greg's PT til the center shut down.
We started stocking up on cat food and started searching for paper towels and lysol and yes, toilet paper.
Good times.
No one was wearing a mask yet but for a few. We were blindly accepting the politician's saying no need for a mask. Until I realized nope there was a big need and we started searching for masks and in the meantime Greg sewed a few for us and for our neighbors too.
My very first mask.
Greg getting the mail back in the end of March 2020. #funny/notfunny
One bright spot. We adopted Gracie in March. Despite the pandemic. She needed a home desperately as she had been going from foster to foster and it wasn't going well for her. The head of the Brooklyn rescue group contacted us knowing we were thinking about adopting another to help Oliver and give him a young playmate so he could stop running after Tommy. Anyway pandemic adoption of Gracie ensued.
Greg sewing masks.
Signs going up in our neighborhood and everywhere just like this one.
Heartwarming stories alongside heartbreaking ones sharing experiences of loved ones dying from Covid 19. Each day on the news the governors read long lists of people who died and the loved ones affected. Lists that seemed miles long.
The horror. Our MD friends showing us how they were protecting themselves.
And Gracie's expression at all the masks priceless.
Yes, it seemed the world had gone mad and "normal" was a long way away...
We decided to get new rings to wear that would be easier to wear and disinfect during the pandemic.
Somehow the world seemed OK when we could add a bit of bling.
We still continued our daily walks in Brooklyn but this time we were wearing masks and crossing the street when we saw other people. We stopped hugging friends and stopped contact with others as we knew it. I remember my dear friend M had come home early from her trip in March because of Covid and we hugged and then realized what had we just done. We felt like we committed a crime or worse yet made a deadly mistake. We walked that day but uneasily and we stayed a bit apart as we walked.
In a matter of days literally we went from this during our daily walks:
To this:
Yup life had changed as we knew it and slowly but surely it was dawning on us that everything had to be carefully considered and deliberated and approached with common sense and caution. One mistake could be a life ending mistake.
Maybe that sounds dramatic but for me that is how it felt. I was listening to both Cuomo and Murphy and my heart felt like it was breaking a thousand times over hearing all those who had died. Each day. From Covid 19. The hospitals were filling up fast and ICUs were over run and the situation was dire.
We endured. The days and months to follow. We made the best of it.
We took the cats and headed to the beach house mid May where we felt we could walk more easily and unencumbered and where we could get groceries more easily. Where life was a bit quieter. I realized many/most did not have that option to pick up and go elsewhere away from the urban environment and I felt grateful. But worried for everyone. So worried. My parents, my sister and nieces, my friends, my fellow humans. What was going to happen? How would it all play out?
The days went by in a blur. Days became weeks and weeks became months. In the meantime Greg had two more kidney stone surgeries during Covid 19. I couldn't wait there for him at the hospital because of Covid. I was home wringing my hands worrying. And then in December a cancer diagnosis. And another surgery followed. And again I had to wait at home alone. While my husband underwent an eight hour surgery at Lenox Hill. I was a wreck. Waiting and scared. Thank you to my friends and you know who you are who made that time bearable for me. Greg came through with flying colors thankfully.
And the months became a year and here we are a full year plus later. Looking back it all seemed to go in slow motion at times but also in a whirlwind. Opposites held true. So fast though quite slow. Sad but grateful. Worried yet hopeful. Scared but strong and courageous because there was no other choice. And so on and so forth. A huge mix of emotions. And a presidential election during this time. A huge change. So much happening. Brightness in the dark.
We continued walking most days. In the woods, in the parks and on the beaches. No matter the weather. Sun, snow, rain, freezing temps, warmer temps we made it out most days. Anything to get out of the house and breathe some fresh air. On the days we couldn't we stayed home and played cards or board games or both. Did some reading and chatted with friends via phone. Making connections any way we could but in person.
We had an outdoor backyard physical distancing visit with my parents. In August. Still haven't been able to hug them since 2019. But hopefully one day soon. That visit in August meant so much to both Greg and me. Greg's mother died in June 2020 and it was so sad because we didn't get to hug her goodbye. We couldn't hug our family members.
Through it all hope held strong no matter how awful and scary hope was the beacon of light shining through. In world record speed vaccines had been developed. Successful vaccines. Life saving vaccines. And the world was getting vaccinated one person at a time. Life seemed sweeter and better than it had been for a long time. Soon everyone who wants to will be able to get vaccinated. Something to celebrate indeed.
We held on and we continue to do so. Much further than we had been last year and finally the proverbial light at the end of a long dark tunnel. No, we are not out of it yet but we are well on our way. Hold on. We are almost there.
Thank you for allowing me to share some rambling stream of consciousness disorganized thoughts with you this morning.
Please share some of your thoughts if you are in the mood. One year plus later.
and will be on par with last season.
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