Each of us has a Covid story. This is how ours began.
It was early February. Coronavirus had yet to take over the world, but it had already transformed life as we knew it. We made the difficult decision to temporarily move our family to safer pastures, despite the risks of flying. Despite the fact that leaving would mean I would need to do my job in the opposite time zone and without pay.
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| news on January 22 |
We had a week's holiday for the Chinese New Year. Just before the holiday, parents started wearing masks when they came to school. As a precaution. As a gesture of goodwill. Not an uncommon sight in this part of the world when someone feels unwell - but certainly with anxiety stirring the air. During that week, news grew and we checked it every day. Hong Kong reacted swiftly. Borders began to tighten and flights diminished. We social-distanced ourselves somewhat... finding time outdoors in wide-open spaces, like the beach, where we wouldn't run into other people. Our temperatures had to be checked every time we arrived at our building and people wore masks to grocery shop or walk downtown. It was announced that schools would remain closed for two weeks... then longer.
On February 4th, there were 13 cases in Hong Kong. There were 11 in the USA.
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| At the time, expats (including us), didn't wear masks much. Others did. They remembered SARS. |
- toddler
- daughter with a history of acute respiratory disease
- fears of Hong Kong quarantine and HK rules and regulations (the response to the virus)
- constant, daily reminders of fear and hyper-vigilance (you all know what this feels like)
- stuck in a small apartment of 950 square feet with nowhere to go
- flights being canceled (would we be trapped?)
- why not? Why not offer our kids a chance to have a little light in the darkness, a little positivity in such a time of uncertainty, the ability to go outside and the love and comfort of relatives. After all, we were both working from home via laptops now. And the USA seemed far away from what Hong Kong and China were facing.
The relief was immediate. The stark contrast between the HK airport and arrival at SeaTac was insane. And we had arrived in time to celebrate Grandpa's birthday.
The flight itself was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. I have honestly never felt the panic that I felt during that flight. And the panic held for the entire 12-hour (plus) journey. That's a long time to be in full-fledged flight-or-fight mode. I was a little bit broken. But we had made it. And our kids were able to move freely about.
We worked. The mornings were filled with homeschool for the kids. Afternoons and after bedtime was for distance teaching. Home Learning was going strong.
We took the kids out when we could - between learning and meals. We went to the public library, the grocery store, the hairdresser. We peeked in on Nana teaching her second graders. We did many pulls through Wood's Coffee drive-thru. (Alex can already order himself a 'steamer'.)
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| The luxury of American shopping! |
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| Ferndale Public Library |
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| The required completely embarrassing singing for your pre-teen on her 12th birthday... |
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| one for momma .... The Baglery! |
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| hand sanitizer please! - I'll just hold my breath and hope for the best... it's open, isn't it?? |
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| That's called moss, sweetie. |
The *best* part of all was seeing family. I know, guys, it was too short and not enough. We were way too busy with all of that home learning. When you were home from work, we were cramming in live zooms for our middle schooler, making dinner, and tucking in the kids. But still, we cherished our time with you. All the more grateful for it now that we don't know when travel will be safe again. xoxo
* family *
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| Haylie's real, live Pokemon! Haylie - I have no idea how we got a picture of this guy and not of you!! We miss you like crazy. |
Ainsley's birthday wish was to see snow on Mt. Baker. For kids who never ever see the fluffy white stuff, it was a must-do day!
All in all, the four weeks wasn't exactly restful, but it was good for our souls.
A bright light for our Addie girl... a stop at The American Girl store on the way to the airport:
Our last 24 hours brought an unbelievable deluge of things-gone-wrong and yet somehow righted again. We felt too exhausted, too raw, to do anything right... and yet the forces of nature and life just kept lifting us back up and pushing us forward, like a wave. Forgotten suitcase in Spokane? Purse left miles away on the side of a road in Seattle? Keys for the rental car discovered in my pocket at security? Forehead welt on toddler from falling off a chair minutes before we board the plane? Oh, and the fear of coronavirus hovering over it all? check, check, check. Somehow, things kept getting fixed. Despite us doing everything wrong.
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| HOPE. This rainbow - sending us on our way back to Hong Kong. |