covid-19

A Week in Review

/ Jeff Crow / Leave a comment

I’ve been back to posting fairly regularly for a little more than a month now. I had stopped because life had gotten too busy; between sitting in front of a computer for 8+ hours a day for work, a family that wants attention, and a dangerous amount of sleep deprivation it became hard to finding something to write about. Throughout the pandemic, life has felt fairly monotonous, what could my voice add to the billions that were feeling the same way.

A few weeks ago, though, I realized that I missed the consistency. I missed the deadline of needing to get something posted. I felt I had things to say; not always serious things, or big things, but things all the same.

But I am taking it slow to start with. Just getting back into getting something posted is enough for now. I have a couple of items in my drafts that need various levels of polish, research, and work until they’re ready. I want to get the juices flowing enough to get some fiction going again.

Finding the words to say what I am thinking has not always been a strong suit. Taking the time to say how I feel even less so. This has always been a space to work on the parts of me that I felt were under-developed. I hope that continues.

In the meantime, I hope everyone will take their shot when they have their shot. I hope everyone will wear a mask, keep each other safe, and find some compassion. I hope that we can remember the lessons learned over the last year. I always hope we can see each other again.

A few links to end the week…

  • CDC Vaccine Finder – Useful tool to find appointments and distribution near you. Reminder, availability will be expanded on April 16th!
  • Broken (in the best possible way) – One of my favorite authors, Jenny Lawson (@thebloggess), has a new book out. It is wonderful and speaks to how it feels to live with mental illness. Please support a local bookshop, if you can!

As always, my friends, good luck. Until next week…

Tomorrow

/ Jeff Crow / Leave a comment

I have been on lockdown since February 20, 2020. That was the last day I spent any real time in the outside world. I had a small medical procedure the next day, spent a week working from home. By the time I was supposed to go back to the office, we were on temporary work from home duty. That 30 day order turned into 60 days, into 90 days, into…well, I pretty much just work from home now.

I realized the other day that I have not been into a Target in more than a year. I haven’t been to Disneyland, which may be more of a miracle if you know me. Last week was the first time I’ve eaten at a restaurant, and then only because we had to take our littlest to an appointment several hours from our house.

We have been extraordinarily careful over this time. We’ve wiped down groceries, changed clothes and taken showers, washed hands, limited shopping. We’ve closed a business and looked at ways to change our life. All in the name of keeping ourselves, and our families, safe and healthy.

I want my children to grow up to have long and healthy lives; so a new virus comes up with unknown long term effects, I want to keep them safe. I want to dance at their weddings, graduations, have dinners long into the future, so I’ll keep myself and my wife safe. I want my parents to be around for more than their parents were, so I will do what I can to keep them safe.

I understand that not everyone will agree with my viewpoint. The world is big enough for a lot of different people and their own ideas. But I will do what I need to do to keep my family safe. And if that means following government recommendations, and wearing a piece of cloth, and washing my hands, and not licking poles, and limiting my contact with other disgusting humans, then fine. We can do that.

All of this to say, I am so tired of this. I don’t miss going out. I never really liked it to begin with. What I miss, is the possibility of it. I miss the ability to go to dinner. I miss the ability to go to the movies, or to go to a store, or to see my parents. Or, really, to go to Disneyland.

The last year has been hard. Well, to be fair, the last four haven’t been a cakewalk, but the last year has been especially hard. And now, here it is, the precipice of tomorrow.

My wife received her first vaccine last week. My parents are waiting for their second shots. Initial tests on my oldest’s age group looks promising for the fall. And I have my shot tomorrow.

We always have tomorrow to look forward to. No matter how bad yesterday was, no matter how low we are today, tomorrow is just around the corner. The injustices of the world, the slights of fate we endure, or the pains and trials we go through…they will all fade in the promise of tomorrow.

Until next time my friends…stay safe, stay healthy, and good luck.

Life in the Time of CoVID-19

/ Jeff Crow / Leave a comment

Isn’t life funny? The timing of it all really. We all had hopes and dreams for 2020; a trip to Europe, weddings, birthdays, movie premieres. We had plans of a much more mundane nature too. Going on a picnic, or to work, or to school. And then something else happened instead.

My family is, as I write this, 30 days into our isolation. Due to an illness and a few other intervening events, our’s started a little more than a week earlier than the rest of California. My wife and I had seen the writing on the wall though. We had been following as other nations confronted a new reality; corona virus was coming. We made sure that we did a heavier than expected grocery run, we made sure we had what we needed for the next little bit. I assumed we were overreacting and being overly cautious. I was wrong.

Our story now is no different than those of people in Paris or London or San Francisco. It probably is a little different than some people’s story in Lombardy, New York, or Seattle. We have food, we are able to go out for walks, and, most importantly, we are all healthy. The people I know are currently healthy. But if the first three months of this year have proven anything, it is that things can change very quickly.

Case in point, my last two places of employment, everyone is just…not working. Disneyland Cast Members are furloughed as of April 19th; I can’t even imagine how they are feeling. I know when I was working there, this would have wrecked any savings I had. Apple employees are not working for a while, and while some are being offered at home positions temporarily, many are just not working.

In my case, I am fortunate to have a job that is currently in demand and has stayed busy. My wife has been less fortunate; she is in allied health and her industry is currently being recommended to practice social distancing. She’s closed her office and canceled clients; most likely this is the end of her business for the time being. The future is a strange place.

I don’t think this is the 2020 we expected. In a world that many see as divided and divisive, as ill-prepared and ill-equiped, a world still reeling from events to many to mention, a different story may exist just under the surface. From Italy to New York, London to Seatle, San Franciso to Tokyo, we are in this together. Never has the world shared a singluar focus like this. The world is sharing in this moment together.

From my family to yours, stay safe, be well. And good luck. We are in this fight together…even if we are staying six feet apart.