Covid 19...my summary

I have been meaning to write for months.Two months to be precise.  On March 12, I had a really beautiful day with Sara and we attended the Inklings Event where we discussed women and the priesthood and we felt the spirit and just had a perfect evening.  It came after nearly 6 months of study of the roles of women in the priesthood and such beautiful insights and growth.  And despite a challenging class, I was feeling such joy and hope and peace.  In January, 2020 seemed destined to be our year.  We had trips to China and El Salvador planned and Gabby and I would go on her 12th birthday trip.  I was serving as YW President and I just absolutely love it.  Gabby was in YW and we could go to the temple all together.  Life felt so happy, content and SO beautiful!!  There were a lot of times when I would begin to pray and all I could get out was "thank you, thank you, thank you" because my life felt so blessed.  I was seeing positive things happening in my classroom with my challenging students and life just felt so good.  By the end of January, it was clear that Covid 19 was spreading and that we wouldn't be going to China at the end of February.  But even that felt like a blessing--our trip was postponed until March of 2021 and we are going over spring break so we'll only have to miss a couple of days of school instead of 9-10.  And my mom is going to come with us.  And as I mentioned, I spent 6 months studying the role of women in the priesthood and I was attending the temple nearly every week and life was really, really great.  By March 12, Covid was spreading more and many things were being closed down--including church, but at first it seemed like it would only last a couple of weeks.  On March 13, I taught my students and then sent them home for the weekend.  If I'd only known that I wouldn't see them face to face again this school year, I would have done things differently.  That night, March 13, it was announced that schools would close until May 1.  And so I began teaching remotely, from home.

A post went around Facebook on April 2 that had this information:

April 2, 2020

School closures -all students on distance learning.

Self-distancing measures on the rise.

Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other.

Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.

Wear a mask when you leave your house.

Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed.

Parks, trails, entire cities locked up.

Entire sports seasons cancelled.

Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.

Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled.

No masses, churches are closed.

No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, now 5 or more.

Don't socialize with anyone outside of your home.

Children's outdoor play parks are closed.

We are to distance from each other.

Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.

Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.

Panic buying sets in and we have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towels, no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer.

Shelves are bare.

Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.

Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.

Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.

Press conferences daily from the President. Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.

Government incentives to stay home.

Barely anyone on the roads.

People wearing masks and gloves outside.

Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.

Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families.

This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020.

Why, you ask, do I write this status?

One day it will show up in my memory feed, and it will be a yearly reminder that life is precious and not to take the things we dearly love for granted.

We have so much!

Be thankful. Be grateful.

Be kind to each other - love one another - support everyone.

We are all one!

Since March 13, here's a summary of events:

1.  Toilet paper, canned foods, cleaning supplies were almost impossible to find for about a month.  Things are getting better but some items are very over priced.
2.  On March 18, there was a 5.7 earthquake in Magna, Utah.  After that, there were more than a thousand aftershocks, lasting weeks.  We didn't feel all of them but we felt many of them.  It was nerve wracking and made all of us tense and nervous.
3.  Michelle and Ella (and all Hunter High students and staff) were under quarantine for two weeks as there were two confirmed cases at their school.  They weren't allowed to leave the house.
4.  I quickly had to figure out how to teach from the computer.  The first several weeks that was more than a full time job.  It was exhausting.  After I figured things out, I am working less hours than I was teaching full time...but I also don't feel as effective.  One of my students has done NO work since school was closed.  Several of my students have done very little.  And I have tried to reach out...but there's only so much I can do from my home.
5.  All temples closed for over a month.  Now a few temples are opening for live sealings only.  But only one sealing can be done at a time, they can only have a few guests, everything is sanitized afterward and only a couple of temple workers are there.  No other ordinances, including live endowments, right now.  I have not been to the temple in more than two months and I miss it desperately!
6.  No church for over two months.  We do church at home.  Priesthood brethren are authorized to perform the sacrament in their own homes.  For just over a month, they could not go into other people's homes to perform the sacrament...so in a 6 week period we only received the sacrament once.  Now we are receiving it each week, thanks to our ministering brothers.
7.  School ended up being closed for the rest of the school year.  It remains to be seen whether we will be back in the fall and under what circumstances.
8.  Utah and most of the nation was instructed to "stay home, stay safe" and most businesses were closed.  May 1, many of the restrictions were lessened and many businesses opened.  Gatherings of up to 20 people were authorized in the state of Utah.
9.  In Utah--as of today, there are 6,913 confirmed cases of Covid 19 with 77 deaths.  In the United States, there are 1.52 million cases with 89, 785 deaths and worldwide there are 4.69 million confirmed cases with 313,000 deaths.
10.  I am using Microsoft Teams to communicate with and teach my students.   We use Zoom for holding virtual YW activities and for ward council, presidency meetings, etc.
11.  I am grateful every day for texting, phone calls, and other technology.
12.  I miss the young women so VERY much.  I have had very little contact with two of them and only minimal contact with two more...despite my efforts to the contrary.  I miss them and I worry about them and I pray for them.  I'm trying to continue to connect with them by dropping off things and by texting and by mailing letters and so on...but it's not the same.  I miss teaching them.  I miss hugging them.  I miss laughing with them.
13.  Sara and I go walking almost every week day, 6 feet apart.  Beth Peterson joins us most days.  It helps immensely.  But I am noticing that I have less gospel insights to share, less to talk about in general.
14.  Trek was cancelled.  All pageants were cancelled.  Girls camp was cancelled.  Oakcrest was cancelled.  Our long-awaited trip to El Salvador to meet Alfredo's family is almost certainly postponed.  Gabby's 12th birthday trip will happen next year...just before she turns 13.
15.  Gabby hates doing school online. She cries almost every day.   Sometimes I am really patient and encouraging...and sometimes I am not very patient.
16.  My word for 2020 was hope.  I have been trying to cling to hope...to see any good in this.  So many people seem to see so much good and mostly I hate this time period.  I do have more time with my family...but we have all been so sad about so many things that it hasn't been as wonderful as I would hope.