{"id":1337,"date":"2020-04-18T23:41:47","date_gmt":"2020-04-18T23:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/?p=1337"},"modified":"2020-04-21T21:16:48","modified_gmt":"2020-04-21T21:16:48","slug":"covid-19-changing-us-changing-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/?p=1337","title":{"rendered":"Keep smiling and caring, we got this!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_5335<\/a><\/p>\n

I’ve got big ears, but my coronovirus facemask is too small. Or probably more accurately, my head is too big. It makes my ears stick out even more. I look a lot like like Sloth from Goonies. Only he’s got better skin tones.\u00a0 Hey you guys!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\"PSBarra<\/div>\n
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It’s amazing how fast the virus spread.\u00a0 Nearly 200 countries around the world have been affected by the pandemic. China, Italy, Korea, and Spain were hard hit.\u00a0 The first U.S. deaths were in Washington State on March 1. Grammy and I were in Florida when things started getting bad.\u00a0 On March 7, the first East Coast coronavirus deaths occurred in Fort Myers. where Grammy and I were staying!\u00a0 What are the odds of that? Scary.<\/p>\n

The Week of March 8, everything falling to pieces.The NBA season, then college basketball’s annual March Madness tournament (my favorite sporting event). Major League Baseball’s cancelled Spring Training, then came concerts, Disney & Universal and movie theaters.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5333<\/a><\/p>\n

Agent Orange (the guy in the White House who doesn’t deserve to be called President of the United States) declared a National Emergency March 13. Friday,\u00a0 Better late than never bozo.\u00a0 That same day ended up being your last in person school day.\u00a0 Crazy.<\/em><\/p>\n

We were supposed to stay in Florida another two weeks but drove back home March 15, 16 & 17. Once we got to the D.C. and New York City areas, the roads were nearly empty.\u00a0 So weird, especially zipping over the George Washington Bridge in NYC; we would have normally been in traffic for a long time.<\/p>\n

You started remote learning on March 18.\u00a0 On March 26, Gov. Sununu of NH announced a “stay at home” statewide policy.\u00a0 Restaurants closed except for takeout; all public events were cancelled; retail stores shut down.<\/p>\n

Everyone is talking about – and most are doing –\u00a0 “social distancing<\/strong>,” keeping at least six feet between us and others.\u00a0 It’s become the biggest buzzword of the pandemic.\u00a0 We’ll all be glad when we don’t hear it anymore!\u00a0 People are constantly reminded to wash their hands and wear face masks.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5297<\/a><\/p>\n

Spring school sports? Gonzo. Proms and graduations? Bye bye. I feel bad for everyone who won’t get to experience never-forget moments.\u00a0 Ben – your Junior Prom (although it may be rescheduled to Fall). Emma & Camden, your eighth grade graduations.\u00a0 We’ll make the best of it and celebrate a different way!!<\/p>\n

Grocery shopping is one of the weirdest things of all.\u00a0 Everyone is paranoid, thinking ‘Does that person next to me have the virus?’\u00a0 Everyone’s wearing masks, you don’t want to touch anything, people look at you like you’re guilty.\u00a0 When you get home we have to clean each item with disenfectant towels.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5321<\/a><\/p>\n

There are super high levels of FUD – Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt.\u00a0 And Stress!<\/p>\n

It makes you appreciate the good old days when restaurants were open, grocery shopping was a breeze and no one thought you were robbing a bank.<\/p>\n

For the past month, you’ve been learning and doing school work remotely.\u00a0 I’m sure it’s weird and not ideal.\u00a0 You can’t see your friends in person and don’t get the same quality of teaching from your teachers. It’s harder for you to concentrate and get things done.\u00a0 We’re sorry you have to go through this and wish school – and life – could be normal again.\u00a0 I’m proud of how you’ve adapted.\u00a0 FaceTime and Zoom meetings have helped you stay in touch with your friends and family.\u00a0 It’s not like being there in person, but it’s better than not seeing anyone, right? From what you’ve told me, it’s been a saving grace.<\/p>\n

A lot of people have filed for unemployment; millions have lost their jobs in a matter of weeks.\u00a0 Small businesses (which employ half of the country’s workforce) have been especially hard hit. The government is trying to help, but it’s not enough.<\/p>\n

Grammy and I text, talk on the phone and use video to keep in touch.\u00a0 We’ve donated to local charities to feed the hungry.\u00a0 I continue to help out with various social causes.\u00a0 We stay on top of the news. On the weekends we drive to see you and your parents, standing six feet apart to catch up.\u00a0 The hardest thing is not being able to hug or give you a kiss.\u00a0 Easter was weird – no egg hunts, no Easter meal at our house.\u00a0 We sure missed having you around.<\/p>\n

Everywhere we go there are signs on lawns and in windows encouraging people not to give up and be strong. That’s the spirit!\u00a0 \"IMG_5334<\/a><\/p>\n

The streets are either amazingly empty (see photo of downtown Durham) or have extremely light traffic. It’s strange going through downtown Dover on a typically busy Friday or Saturday seeing hardly zero traffic or people.<\/p>\n

Many people are going through especially hard times.\u00a0 Sharing a smile, listening and lending a helping hand means so much.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

A giant thank you to all the people on the front lines, especially the <\/em>medical workers bravely going into work everyday helping sick people. They are the true heroes; it’s amazing what they’re doing; talk about compassion.<\/em><\/p>\n

The good news? There’s a lot of good news! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most important thing to remember is that a lot of brilliant scientists and medical geniuses are working overtime to create a vaccine = a cure – for this pandemic. They will find a cure and get it done.<\/em>
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The other thing to remember is how lucky we are.\u00a0 <\/em>Your parents are getting paid and have money to put food on the table and pay the bills.\u00a0 No one has caught the virus; no one is sick. You have nice roofs over your heads and are safe and sound.\u00a0 Family is close by\u00a0 who love you and watch out for you.<\/p>\n

These are epic advantages, not to be overlooked, or taken for granted. While it could be better, it can always be much worse!
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\"IMG_5336<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Keep smiling and caring. We got this. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve got big ears, but my coronovirus facemask is too small. Or probably more accurately, my head is too big. It makes my ears stick out even more. I look a lot like like Sloth from Goonies. Only he’s got … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1337"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1337"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1360,"href":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1337\/revisions\/1360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/camden.papabeaupreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}