Life and Times

Saturday, February 27, 2021

A Year of Lockdown

Wow, who could have imagined the whole world would have to isolate. This is unprecedented. If I was told a year ago that Americans would wear masks, I would not have believed it. At first, when the lockdown was announced, we thought it would be for two weeks, maybe a month. Now 12 months later, I want to document what this year was like for us.

So everything changed in 2020. Kids didn't go to school and everyone who could work from home did. There were no sports events, concerts, bday celebrations, weddings, or funerals. The Olympics were cancelled and Disneyland closed. All we did was go to the grocery store, cooked, and gardened. A lot of folks took up baking and crafting and there were zoom meetings. Lots of zoom meetings.

The first days of the lockdown were strange. The week of March 14, there was talk of a stay-at-home order. We tried to prepare as much as we could at work. Thursday night we went home and it was announced that LA County would go into lockdown immediately. Friday was the last day of school. Disneyland closed. We got a message from work saying to come in for further instructions.

I had just started this job in January. We really thought we were shutting down. However, we are considered essential business and allowed to remain open. Our boss was generous in letting anyone go on unemployment if they did not feel comfortable coming into work. Their job would still be held for them when they returned. Everyone thought this would blow over in a month or two. :-(