It’s March 13, 2020. We’ve just learned about all that is happening. Events are being cancelled and people are being asked to quarantine for 14 days if they think they’ve been exposed to the coronavirus. I’m at a Target in Monaca and it will be one of the last days I work until May. On my schedule, stores were cancelling left and right to keep their employees and us safe as well. My last day would be tomorrow at the Office Max in Greensburg. It was a short, easy day and I was home quickly. Better stock up on that hand sanitizer and toilet paper, people.
That night at church, everyone was addressing their concerns over the coronavirus. We took the necessary precautions while greeting guests and members so that we wouldn’t expose ourselves to the virus. Church would be closed for two weeks and all church events would be cancelled, including the Financial Peace University course that I was taking. Eventually, that class would be moved online and live-streamed. All church services would also be live-streamed for the foreseeable future. As we stayed home and stayed safe, we would be introduced to a new medium that I’ll get to in this blog.
That was a weird Spring and the year would only get weirder from here on out. Here is a six pack of facts as I navigated this new normal.
1.) Masks became mandatory as did social distancing, and six feet apart became a household term. Remember the previous year when I attended the Spring Conference and watched my Cranberry High Noon friends celebrate their achievements. They formed what I would call the DTM Huddle, and that became a popular term between me and some of my Toastmaster friends. Mom stayed home and used her sewing machine to make masks, while Dad made his own hand sanitizer.
2.) While we had no inventories scheduled, WIS wasn’t entirely shut down. A few of us agreed to help out Rite Aid with merchandising and putting product on the shelf. The Rite Aids we helped stock were in the North Hills of Pittsburgh and in Cranberry Township and Seven Fields. This was actually a precursor to what I’m doing now at Giant Eagle.
We did this for two weeks beginning at the end of March and going until just before Easter. By then, the outbreak was worsening and it was best for us to just stay home. Thus, I was officially out of work for a month.
3.) I discovered Gilmore Girls at the end of 2019 and started watching the show on Netflix. By the time COVID hit, this show really became my companion. Everytime I turned it on, I had to have my coffee (because Lorelai loves coffee). I even began to consider Ligonier my own little Stars Hollow, in addition to the perfect Hallmark Christmas Town.
A lot of people began watching the entire run of The Office during COVID too.
4.) Since I didn’t have much to do at home as well as keep myself busy while Annabelle was doing distance learning, I made time for road trips. A few times I drove out to my Little Stars Hollow and eat lunch in the Diamond that I picked up from Sheetz. I began listening to old school country music from my college and high school days) and even drove up to Johnstown a few times.
5.) I would be introduced to an online platform called Zoom that made it possible for us to attend group meetings. We used it for our Financial Peace University meetings when they reconvened after a few weeks off and it was also our means of having Toastmasters meetings for the foreseeable future. Because of Zoom, I began to attend more club meetings in the District. While this became a convenient way to attend meetings for those out of town or out of state, meeting virtually began to make me feel disheartened.
6.) The pandemic and the cancellation of stores were just a few of the many factors that were the beginning of the end of my employment with WIS. All big events were postponed but rescheduled. Many summertime festivals would be shut down for the next few years because of fears of the virus spreading.
The class of 2020, whether it was college or high school, made it through one of the most trying times that this nation has ever faced. Instead of enjoying your senior year, you had to stay home and avoid contact with your friends. No way you were going to any graduation parties.
For me it was back to work on May 9. While I got to see some of my friends, I knew there would be conditions and restrictions.
Did I really want to come back?
Stylish 🍒 