One Year of Coronavirus

February 28, 2021

About 1 year ago, the novel coronavirus pandemic began spreading in earnest in the United States. Washington State was hit first, followed soon after by New York. We realized early on that staying in New York City during the pandemic wouldn't be a great idea with two children in a small apartment and so, on Saturday, March 14th, 2020, we relocated to Grandpa Bill's house in the Berkshires town of Mount Washington, MA.

Here's how that went:

First, it was cold. It stays colder in Mount Washington than elsewhere and so our first two months or so up there were chilly and snowy. We were staying in the barn, which was nice as it gave us (and Grandpa Bill, Daniel, and Mellie) privacy. At the same time, space was tight in the barn, especially during the first few colder months when it was difficult to spend much time outside.

My work changed rapidly. By the end of March I had been re-tasked at work to lead a project to purchase face shields from local manufacturers converting their operations to makeshift PPE production. That work kept me quite busy up to the summer. We ultimately spent purchased more than 8.4 million face shields on behalf of the City, 7.5 million of which were locally made.

Justin's routine changed too. The same weekend we vacated the City, public schools went remote for the remainder of the school year. The adjustment was tough for Justin (and parents). School went from an opportunity to spend time with friends, learn, and burn some energy to long sessions in front of a small computer navigating email and Google Docs. Not ideal for a 7 year old.

To help keep things together, Rachel cut back on work for her PhD program and spent time with Luke and helped Justin with school.

As the weather warmed up and we began to adjust to the new normal (mask wearing, no eating out or other indoor activities), things got better. We had impulse purchased 6 baby chickens and they were getting big enough to spend time outside. We built them a coop and Justin spent hours with Grandpa Bill researching the best ways to raise chicks.

As Justin's school wound down and my work lightened up, things continued to improve. Justin spent tons of time outside, learning about plants, catching frogs and newts, and undertaking various projects like chopping firewood or making improvements to the chicken coop. We also began doing more hiking, takeout food, and other "normal" activities that were safe during coronavirus times.

Over the summer, our cat O, who loved spending time outside in the Berkshires, went missing. We think she may have been taken by wild animal. She was a great cat. We miss you O.

We returned to the City in August, after a full five months at Grandpa Bill's. Justin returned (part time) to in person school in September, we reconnected with our babysitter for Luke, and Rachel resumed her PhD work at full steam. We also began to share the news that Rachel was pregnant with baby number three – a girl!

As the weather got cold again, we bore down for a difficult winter with limited opportunities to spend time out of the apartment amid another coronavirus surge. We made a few visits back up to Grandpa Bill's and saw a few other family members here and there, but it was a tough holiday period without the normal opportunities to gather.

And now, one year later, the end is in sight. The third vaccine was approved yesterday and, although the rollout is slower than one would hope, coronavirus numbers are dropping and we’re looking forward to a warmer and much more normal summer.

Other highlights:

• Justin's doing an amazing job in third grade. He's now an expert at online school (although he still enjoys going in person)
• Peter got a promotion at work to Assistant Vice President and started an MPA program at Baruch College
• Rachel's dissertation proposal was accepted. And she learned she’d be getting an MPhil
• Luke turned 3!