The coronavirus caused my senior year to end rather suddenly, but more importantly, I have two elderly grandparents who are considered at-risk. One lives in Florida part-time and is scheduled to come back to our house soon, and the other lives across the street from us. They are 90 and 77, so if they get the virus, it is likely that they will face serious health consequences. As a result, my family has decided to strictly shelter in place.
No one leaves the house except to do groceries or take walks. On the other hand, I have stayed in touch with friends and I have even spoken to people I would not have been in touch with otherwise. I have been able to devote more time to reading and writing, and I have started to become more confident in my Greek translation skills. Fortunately, my thesis was not impacted too much.
What has been your greatest worry or day-to-day concern as coronavirus has spread?
I am worried about my family. Sometimes I also worry that I will be expected to shelter in place for longer than what is currently projected.
What has made you happy over the past few weeks?
I have started to drink a lot of tea because it feels good to be able to make something relatively quickly, simply, and efficiently which tastes good and is also good for my health. I have something like three to four cups per day, mostly caffeinated green tea. I found out that the Stone Leaf Tea House is still accepting online orders and I have ordered from them twice already. If you want to support a local business, order tea from them! It's really good.
Submitted April 9, 2020.
Update, April 14, 2020:
When this post first appeared, my 90-year-old grandmother was scheduled to come back to Boston around the end of April. As it turns out, she cannot fly, she cannot stay in Florida, and no other family could drive her, so, starting Friday, I will travel, with my father and brother, from Boston to Florida and back, picking her up along the way. We hope finish the trip as soon as Monday or Tuesday, as we will be taking driving shifts, stopping for a slightly longer break only once we reach my grandmother. We have bought all of the food we will need for the trip and we have borrowed an RV in order not to break quarantine. My life has suddenly and unexpectedly become rather more exciting; last week, it was that I discovered I could drink tea, but now I am going to find out whether I can drive without sleeping (much).
