COVID-19 Lockdown: Day 4

Monday, March 16, 2020: I think this new temporary reality has really set in for many people today. Looking at my social media accounts, I see a lot of people waking up and saying, "Oh shit. This is really a thing now." Some were having a nice breakfast with their roommates, some were displaying their plants in their homes to show signs of life and growth. There were some sitting at their computers getting ready to "go to work" and then others just posting positive messages or uplifting mantras to help people get through their day. I mean this all makes sense, considering today is really the first day of the new reality where people are navigating their new desks which are either their kitchen table or their bed. I think over the weekend maybe people were like "Yeah, this is just another lazy weekend where we get to lay low and chill on our couch. Things will be back to normal by Monday." But they're not. And so now we settle in...

An update on closures: the Denver Mayor ordered all restaurants and bars to close their eat-in/dining room areas, so now there's only takeout/delivery in the city (if the restaurants choose to use that option). The Governor of Colorado followed suit when a few hours later he ordered a statewide closure of such businesses: as devastating as this will be for the food/retail/entertainment/ art industry/ local businesses, etc, it was definitely the right thing to do. So now if the Senate could get their heads out of their assess and pass an emergency bill providing funds to all individuals who will be affected by these closures, that would be REALLY GREAT!

Today I took Leanna for a run, despite the total lack of cars on the road it actually made everything seem fairly normal! We ran at a nearby nature reserve with a lake and really nice running trails. The place is surrounded by houses so we passed several families/ spouses: some people had their kids with them, some had their dogs. The cool thing was that we saw kids playing by the creek with sticks and checking out nature: definitely not normal but should probably be made the new normal once this is all over with. It was really cool to see that, just kids enjoying nature and the great outdoors, really not having a care in the world now that their school is probably over for them for the rest of the semester. And we saw other people riding their bikes or running by, and it threw us straight back into our new reality when they would hesitantly wave with this slight fear in their eyes of "Are we still 6 feet apart oh my GOD COVID-19 IT'S AFTER ME I'M GONNA DIEEE!!!" But I get it, it's a scary time with all this uncertainty: contrary to the lyrics in Lin Manuel's "My Shot", for the first time we actually can't think past tomorrow so we really cannot plan our futures or look forward to future family vacations or weddings or graduations...

I think that's what's been the hardest thing for me so far is just not knowing. Not knowing when things will get back to normal, not being able to plan fun hangouts, trips, and get-togethers and look forward to them. One of our groomsmen has been in South Korea since September, so we talked to him the other day and he said they've been on lockdown for a month and a half. He said it's getting pretty boring because you can't leave your place unless it's an emergency or you run out of toilet paper (joking), so it's not like restaurants or bars are open to go and chill. But he said the situation there is getting better- and that's because their government chose to enact and enforce those lockdown policies to everyone. So see guys!? PROOF that all this will work in the end YAYYY!!!

I will leave on a happy note with this picture of Leanna post run today. She is the GOODEST GORL!!

Peace out!

Britt