COVID-19 Chronicles: Marty

Never in my life have I felt like I’m living in a time where history is being made. I’ve heard stories and wondered what it would be like to live through the Great Depression, the Black Plague, and the World Wars. Now as we are all stuck at home, we are making history. Someday my children and my grandchildren will ask me about what it was like to live through a pandemic. They will listen closely as I share stories about toilet paper shortages and the fear that ran through all of our veins. As a young person, I do not fear for my own life, but for my loved ones’ lives. When my kids ask me about my experience during the pandemic, I want to tell them I did my part for those who are more vulnerable. Out of respect for people who are more susceptible to COVID-19, my family and I are quarantining in my house for 14 days after flying, but with the way things are looking, probably longer. My family is taking a lot of caution because my 76-year-old grandpa lives with us. We do not want to take the chance of getting the virus and then exposing it to him, so we have limited our contact with people by ordering our groceries and getting take-out from restaurants in order to support small businesses around us.

In an effort to make the most out of my situation, I have been doing things I rarely have time for such as watercoloring, playing games with my family, spending time outside and reading my Bible. While I am enjoying not being so busy, I am in need of social contact with people that aren’t my family. Facetime and Zoom have been very beneficial to me. I’ve talked to friends everyday over Facetime and my youth group met on Zoom this week. While technology is great, it is not the same as a hug and in-person conversation. If nothing else good comes out of this, I hope that we will no longer take for granted a hug or a handshake.