COVID19 Day 1

We received a call at 5AM from the Loudoun County Public School System that schools would be closed from today until 20 March.  Two days ago, the school board decided to have a teacher work day on 18 March to plan for distance learning if and when schools needed to shut down in response to the coronavirus.  We knew it was coming...eventually...but the drastic turnaround in less than 36 hours was shocking.

At 0626, I walked into Wegmans.  Our Aces baseball friends, the Crains, were walking out of the store with a cart full of groceries, which was impressive given that Wegmans only opens at 6AM.  They warned me that the lines were insane, making their 26 minute trip all the more successful.  I stocked up on necessities to make it through the next two weeks with the kids at home.  I managed to get bread, snacks, meat, chicken, a pork shoulder, and several canned goods.  The lines to check out snaked through the store.  Wegmans typically only has one or two cashiers when the store opens, and were understandably unprepared for the deluge of shoppers.  Thankfully, I ran into another Aces friend, Kaija Johnston, and we got in line to check out together, which meant one of us could hold the line in the event that the other had forgotten something and needed to run and get it.  It was 0700 when we got in line at the back of the store where toilet paper normally would be found.  Of course, there was none.  In all, we stood in line for 90 minutes.  We both saw several friends, all of whom had rolled out of bed and straight into the store.  Everyone was civil, friendly, and congenial.  We didn't have any of the riots that would break out in stores later in the day.



Our tennis team had a match scheduled for 1PM, so I left the kids at home while I headed to the Trump Country Club to play.  Debbie and I won 6-1, 6-4, and--despite government recommendations to practice social distancing--hugged to celebrate our win, noting that if one of us got COVID19, we would be going down together anyway.  Afterwards, we headed to River Creek to celebrate our win with a bottle of champagne.  Chad was already there, working remotely, and our friend Marybeth joined us.  We sat outside drinking champagne and crying.  To be clear, I cried...the other two just drank.



We met our friends, the Sweeneys, for dinner at the club.  Somehow, we are always with the Sweeneys when we get bad news, so it's only appropriate that we should spend the evening with them.  We have had countless dinners together where at least one of us has been without words, shellshocked, or just down.  Tonight was no different.

When I arrived home, we found our neighbors, the Murphys and Gentrups, had set up a Corona party in our driveway, complete with a firepit, grill, cooler, and garbage can for empties. To say I love my neighbors is a gross understatement.  They have become our family.  I love that they threw a party at our house while we were away.  It was a balm for my weary soul.