How quickly things change. Last night when I returned from my shopping trip there was a message waiting from our schools telling us to be prepared for an important announcement the following morning. This morning we received the message that all extra-curricular activities had been cancelled for at least the next three weeks. This was disappointing to Calvin, who was looking forward to an upcoming band concert, but in the same message they assured us that school would remain open for the time-being as remote school was too challenging an option for our rural areas.
This evening, not twelve hours later, we received the message that school would be entirely closed for the next three weeks. On the heals of that message Calvin's other events cancelled one by one, first his dance competition, then his choir concerts, then choir itself, then dance itself. It is a sobering moment when you realize that the situation is making history, that you are part of making that history whether you want to be or not.
There are bright spots in the storm. Not an hour after the school closing message came in, as we were all feeling shaken and unsteady, the neighbors texted to invite us over for drinks, dinner, and shennanigans. We are so very fortunate to live where we do, amongst the people that we do, and spending the evening with this cohort set us a little more at ease, even if it's the last time we are able to congregate, as I fear it will be for some time. Still, we are all in it together.
