On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a Worldwide Pandemic. At the time, there were roughly 1,000 known cases of COVID-19 in the US. Here we are, a year later, and there’s been close to 30,000,000 cases in the US. Estimates by virologists believe that 30% of Americans have had the virus. That would be around 100,000,000 of your countrymen and women. There’s been close to 2.65 Million deaths across the globe, and 530,000 of those coming from the world’s “super power”, the United States. It begs the question, why does SARS CoV-2 inflict more damage on the American? I previously had written about this, and the answer is simple: Because we were already sick when the virus pierced our borders.
The news was overwhelming regarding the virus. It was the ONLY story. Borders began shutting down. Americans all over the World were told to get home or face being stuck overseas. Every event under the Sun was “postponed” as we needed a few weeks to “flatten the curve”; How silly does that all seem now?
Our quarantine really took shape on Friday March 13th, of 2020. That’s when the reality of what was coming started setting in. However, a few days prior, I remember talking to my parents about what was going on. They had spoken to some members of our family that tend to make mountains out of mole hills. You know, the kind you can’t talk out of a good panic. My Mom and Dad asked, “what do you think is going to happen?” I told them, “I don’t know, but this one’s the real deal, and it’s different and we need to take it seriously.”
On Friday, 3/13/2020 – my family hunkered down. To “prep” we went to Costco, where the lines were enormous. The term hadn’t been coined yet, but it was what you would call ” a super-spreader” event.
The day prior, even though not OK with my employer at the time, I prepped everyone to work from home, and told them NOT to come in. It was the right thing to do. Work proves to be less productive if you’re dead, no matter what the big boss says.
We went to the grocery store, and saw empty shelves. It looked like the pictures from communist Eastern bloc countries.
The reactions from our families, neighbors, and friends in levels of fear were wildly different. There were the flat out deniers, pretending it was no worse than the flu despite the body count and stories all over the globe. There were those that didn’t go out of the house at all and only communicated via screen due to extreme fear. We had an already agoraphobic neighbor only go to the mailbox with masks and gloves on, and never came out of the house otherwise. Most, made exceptions for close family that were “low-risk/healthy” to be seen in person, and often in open-air situations when the weather permitted.
Early during our quarantine, I drank more than I should have at times. I wasn’t alone in this as the numbers of people abusing substances soared all over the World. Sometimes it was just casual, having a beer on my deck with my wife in the evening. Sometimes, I admittedly tried to briefly escape reality; not ideal. At first, there were the “virtual” happy hours, and doing our best to be together, then turning into self-questioning, “Why am I doing this?”
The trails that were normally lonely minus a hearty runner or cyclist, became packed. The busy street that we lived off of, that had a death-defying left turn into oncoming traffic every damn morning, became exceptionally easy, as very few people were driving into work.
My wife and I had to figure out how to work demanding jobs, become teachers, full-time caretakers. My wife, with the constant interruptive nature of my work, took the brunt of it. She’s a rare human; admirable beyond most people’s comprehension. She’s not the type to shout it to the rooftops on what she accomplishes. She doesn’t get the praise so deserved, and it bothers me ( and her, though she wouldn’t say it) when people who accomplish little are lavished with praise or taken pity on for small obstacles, while she endures. She goes about loving all of us in a Stoic manner, and we share the majority of our frustrations privately, and wonder often what the world is whining about when there certainly are “real problems” out there.
It was clear early on during quarantine that my daughter learned far better in an in-person environment with other kids, and my young son needed an outlet for his endless energy fueled by what I can only describe as an enormous amount of HGH. Whatever it is flowing through that child’s veins, I would like some of it! At first, the early 2020 Spring weather was awful. It rained, and we couldn’t get outside how we would have liked. When that turned, we took full advantage to ride bikes, take walks, get in the blow-up pool. We were grateful to have a place to do all of this, and couldn’t imagine what it might be like living in a high-rise apartment trying to make due.
A tale of two extremes came with remote work. There were people whose social lives came from interacting in-person at work, not know what to do with themselves. So, their solution became having a meeting every other second to fill the void and to somehow justify a paycheck. This also became the go-to option for micro-managers who were unable to have their ever watchful eye on their teams. Then, we saw working parents being run ragged trying to keep up with an even more demanding schedule from their kid-less co-workers and clients while managing their households; an impossible task.
Our family watched the Disney Sing-alongs together, and were happy to have Disney +.
After businesses in Central Ohio were “allowed” to re-open, we resumed swim lessons for our kids, and they both got better at technique and cannonballs. We ordered take-out as much as we could, and made it a point to support local businesses. My personal favorite was a local coffee roaster who began doing household deliveries, as my caffeine intake and tolerance went skyward.
My wife and I had our 10th anniversary. It wasn’t how we had envisioned it, but much of our life is quite different than what those two younger versions of ourselves thought it might be when we said our vows. We thought we’d be on a beach somewhere. Instead, we recreated some scenes from the Summer we met; Beer Pong and glorious old school playlists and all. Still no one else I’d choose as a partner for this life. I’m lucky.
We played a lot of baseball in our back and front yards. We walked often to a local park to see tadpoles forming and mark their growth progress. We were outside as much as time and weather allowed.
My Son and I had a “boys” day. We went to the pool. Listened to hard rock. I took him to a baseball diamond, in full Dodger uniform, and played 1 on 1 baseball as best we could. We grabbed food from a local food truck and ice cream. All while my wife took our daughter to a local hotel for a night to celebrate her birthday with some friends who we had spent time with throughout quarantine.
We went to West Virginia, and stayed in a cabin with those same friends who we had a quarantine agreement with, and their kids. It was a blast. West Virginia is America’s best kept secret and it proved how kids adore being outside in nature. I went for a trail run during the trip, and was attacked by a wild turkey… for real.
My wife and I found out just how much our kids could eat. A lot. A WHOLE LOT. It felt like we were restocking food every other day with them home with us 24/7. Lord bless the grocery store employees restocking the shelves as fast as they could.
My daughter had her spring break from school and never went back. She had a good summer, then had to go “back to school” with online learning only to start the year. This started off horribly, then morphed into “OK”, then a transition into “I got this” on some days. She then started a hybrid schedule, a week in-person, followed by a week of virtual learning. It wasn’t ideal, but we saw many schools stay closed for political purposes, despite epidemiologists stating that the risks were and are very low to bring children back in full-time. This is still going on. My Son’s Pre-K re-opened and saw the immediate benefits of him being there among his friends, learning, and playing.
The US saw it’s share of horror outside of the pandemic, at first, really taking shape with the horrible death of George Floyd. As the protests that turned into full-blown riots taking over cities, we watched in horror as did the rest of the country. We saw people make excuses for inexcusable behavior. I believe these events ( and the many awful ones that followed in 2020 into ’21) were the inflection point of the U.S. splintering into two distinct entities. It could have been avoided, but it’s the path we’re on, and I don’t believe there’s any turning back. I hope I’m wrong, but fear that I’m not.
Then there were the people who posted black squares as social media profile pictures. Many put up “Black Lives Matter” signs in their yard based on the words, which are accurate, but without paying attention to the words used by the organization itself. A few people who posted Black Squares and yard signs did something to make the situation better. The majority did not.
We saw people turncoat their morality on both sides of the Left/Right political spectrum. Election spending hit $13 Billion in 2020, more than twice than that of 2016 in an effort to further divide ourselves by class, race, and whatever category you could invent. Our unredeemable choices for President reflected the growing rift in a country torn apart by it’s own inability to see itself past the next 5 minutes.
The whole world saw a miracle take place as the US’ Operation Warp Speed took the financial risk from Pharmaceutical companies to allow them to focus on developing vaccines for COVID 19. It worked, and with some luck on how the virus acts, it was 9 months …NINE.. For a vaccine to move through the necessary phases and start being distributed to the public. The process normally takes 11-15 YEARS. It’s a miracle. Trump did a lot of things wrong while President, but this is the biggest win. ( Predictably, and like all incoming Presidents, Biden is taking credit for something he had nothing to do with. Both sides do it. We see it. We do nothing about it. I digress).
In the midst of this, I knew it was time for a change of my current work environment. Someday, maybe, I’ll dive deeper into the reasons. All I’ll say is that there was no question it was time to leave. The story and lessons might help someone that finds themselves in a similar situation. It wasn’t just the job. More and more, the signs were egging us on for a move. We knew our house would fare well in a hot real estate market, interest rates were low. Those were advantages. However, what made it clear, was the realization that all we really have is time. No one likes to talk about the reality of this, but both of my parents aren’t getting any younger. The extra time we’d get with them would be well spent. The time at work needs to not ruin your time NOT at work with your family, and that was becoming rare. An opportunity to lead a team through a turnaround could be invigorating, and when that opportunity presented itself, it seemed foolish to not listen to the Universe and relocate, though we knew it would be painful and exciting at the same time.
My wife’s company decided to go through a reorganization, as if there wasn’t enough disruption in people’s lives already. She decided to paint the interior of our whole house. Because she’s a human being capable of handling more than any person I know. More than any person should have to.
Though my gym was closed, I’m lucky enough to have great workout equipment at home. Between that, and getting back into running after a prior back surgery, things weren’t bad in the physical activity arena. I was about as strong as ever had been, and I ran a virtual and unsupported half-marathon faster than I had in a decade. I spent a lot of miles with both Run the Jewels and Metallica in 2020. I led a Church Ministry focused on improving the Health of our congregation, and taught my first group fitness classes at a park nearby. Wasn’t expecting that! I was able to brew some beers that I was proud of, and still able to pursue some interests in the few uninterrupted moments you get during the day; even if that means waking up before the rest of the world or using your lunch break to accomplish them.
There was a stock market crash, then an non-sensical rebound creating price to earnings ratios that are more “expensive” than any other time throughout history. 22 Million people filed jobless claims within a Month of the declaration of the Pandemic by the WHO. That’s more people than the entire population of Chile. The price of Oil went negative in April. The US saw long-time businesses shutter, and also spent itself into oblivion with no regard for what that spending will do to future generations. We decided the reality of math no longer mattered.
The music industry changed before our eyes. Artists did live streaming shows, started putting out EP’s or Singles in lieu of albums. Every concert my wife and I had tickets to was cancelled. There were a lot of them. While it might not be like this for everyone, live music has been a large part of our lives, and we miss it terribly. Every festival re-scheduled, only to be postponed again, then eventually completely called off. Towns like Nashville saw the gigging musicians have their incomes dry up to nothing. People in these towns had to make tough choices “do I work and put myself in harms way? OR do I starve and not pay the rent?” There were no good choices for many. And if those people DID choose to work, gig in a bar, they were met with the utmost contempt, without an ounce of empathy for the tough decision they had to make.
Comedians worked “drive-in” shows. The brilliant Dave Chapelle sold hard to get tickets to socially distant, outdoor shows, at his house in small town Ohio.
In the Fall of 2020, everything began to get kicked into overdrive for our family. I accepted an offer on a position that would bring me back to a State that will always feel like Home. I had a birthday, and the Dodgers won the World Series; all of this within a few days of each other. My indomitable wife began searching for new homes, while prepping our current one for Sale. How she did all she did still defies logic. And the fact that she supported me, and agreed to another move of our family primarily for my job speaks volumes about her spirit. We started making arrangements and prepping for the move. I said goodbye to the Team I had been leading for the last few years; the hardest part of the decision, and not being able to do it in person or without masks didn’t help.
With the speed of having to get the house “show” ready, look for another house, arrange for the move, and all of the million miscellaneous items and DNA samples and applications to fill out during a move; particularly with kids, we didn’t get to see everyone we wanted to in Central Ohio as we were leaving. That stinks, and we wish that were different. There were so many people there that made the time great and we’re forever impacted by their grace.
Around the same time, the Fall’s COVID “Third Wave” was hitting. Our family went from knowing only a few people that had contracted the virus to feeling like everyone was getting sick. Some cases were mild, while others, including those of very close friends, were very very scary. The debacle that was the 2020 Election happened, and the World seemed to get crazier and crazier. Conspiracies of election fraud, and New Outlets refusing to run stories; a wild time for us personally as we were eager to move and for me to start a new role.
As we closed on the sale and purchase of homes, things got crazier, and bumpier. I’ll save that for another story. I’m not sure you’d believe it, but it’s all true. We arrived at our new home just a few days before Christmas. We managed to get the tree up, and have a normal-ish Christmas; Grandparents and all. The New Year started, and then and things across the country unraveled quickly, and the hope that 2021 would be better seemed to fade, even with the vaccines being deployed. The Capitol Riots were a low point for the country, that were used as an opportunity to stifle speech and to set fire to the growing cancel culture. Social Media companies decided that they were going to police more of the content on their sites on the precise day they found out that the incoming party would chair all of the congressional committees that oversee them. The new administration passed a bill costing American taxpayers $1,900,000,000,000. ( Where only 1% of the $ is going toward vaccines). This brings total COVID related spending by the US Gov’t to $6 Trillion, or close to a quarter of all of the US’ GDP, and about $42,000 per taxpayer. No one seems to be batting an eye, and that’s alarming. That about brings us up to date.
What sticks out over the last 365 days is that even though this has been an “odd” year by our modern standards, there’s been tough times before, and for whatever force you to which you subscribe in this Universe, by almost all definitions I’m lucky. During Marcus Aurelius’ reign over Rome, there was a 15 year plague that was preceded by massive river flooding and a 5 year war. I try and keep my modern conveniences in perspective while also knowing life isn’t great for everyone. Also, humans have wildly different tolerances for risk. Humans at different points in their lives, with more/less to lose, who have been subject to different cultural and family norms, and even based on how they’re feeling in the moment will vary in what they define as risky behavior.
Mostly, the last year is personally defined by getting to spend far more time with my family under these abnormal circumstances than I would have otherwise. If time is all that matters ( and it is), there’s no price tag on that. ( While I limit telling all of their story here, as there’s no real way to fit a full year into text, the limitation is due to the fact that it’s their story, and I shouldn’t speak for them, in particular my children, who have no say in what I write. But it should be noted that any limited description on them is for that reason only, and I’m immensely proud of my wife and kids over the last year. Its an honor and privilege to be in their lives). The last 12 months was full of tragedy and triumph. Dark and light. Death and birth. Right and Left. Order and Chaos. All occurring simultaneously, like it always has. While the human brain may lean toward a negative bias as a protection mechanism to not make mistakes in the future, I hope you’re able to claim those moments of this last year that were overwhelmingly positive and give them a replay on that screen in your mind from time to time. I know I will.
Andrew L Hamilton 