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Writer's pictureRachel Berntsen

pandemic


There's a cooperative game called Pandemic in which you and your friends are trying to save the world from an outbreak that threatens to take over, literally. Peter and I played this with friends during one of our game nights on (let me quickly consult my journal) February 18. At the time, we had no idea that we were experiencing some intense foreshadowing of what was to come.


First of all, I apologize for my radio silence for the past month. Peter and I were in Mexico during the last week of February (that entire trip was a blessing, and I'm glad we managed to go before things got really bad), and March has been a crazy time of uncertainty, as I'm sure it's been for all of you.


I've also started advertising my business a bit more (I actually started a blog on my website, yay!) and experienced an increase in the number of students I have, so for the very first time, I'm FULLY booked! I knew that the need for online tutors would increase once schools started closing, especially because not all schools are offering online solutions, but I didn't want to take advantage of parents who are juggling changes in their job situations and their students being at home, so I decided to offer discounts through the end of March. I've acquired new students as a result, and I've learned that having 20 different students isn't the only way to be fully booked as I previously thought. I acquired 2 brothers that I've been tutoring every day for an hour each - that's the equivalent of having ten students right there! I'm just in awe, to be honest, and so incredibly grateful that I have a business that makes working from home possible and that I have students who enjoy working with me! It's definitely a time of transition for me because it's a completely new realm for me, being fully booked, I mean. I don't have as much free time to work on administrative tasks like I used to, so I have to reorganize my schedule quite a bit. I'm working on that.


Today is my seventh day of social distancing. We had two friends over last Tuesday for a game night for a few hours, but other than that, I've only spoken to people on the phone and I've only been outside twice...to get the mail. I might ask Peter if we can go for a drive and take a walk or something - I'm starting to get just a whee bit stir crazy. Peter's first full day at home was on Thursday, and he had to use a vacation day for that because while he felt a sore throat coming on, his company still hadn't given its employees the green light to work from home when they are fully capable of doing so. I was extremely upset about that. On Friday, his company said employees could take up to 3 weeks of paid leave for coronavirus-related issues, but those who were still capable of working in the office were expected to do so. Bruh, really?? If one person at the company contracts the virus, that's it. Refusing to allow employees to work from home is simply asking for trouble! Well, thankfully, our governor has finally required all "non-essential functions" to be suspended starting tomorrow, so joke's on you, Charter (sorry, but I meant it when I said I was furious about the situation).


I've honestly been too busy working to worry about much else...except for maybe making sure that Peter and I don't kill each other lol. We've been watching a lot of TV just because we don't get that much downtime during a usual week (with the exception of weekends). It's nice to have a little break from evening obligations, though the circumstances that led to this break are terrible, to be sure. We've been switching between My Little Pony (Peter introduced the show to me last month, and while I wasn't a believer during the first few episodes or back when it was a big deal a few years ago, now I'm totally on board) and The Bible series on Amazon (It has been such a great reminder of how amazing my God is and how much He loves me). We TRIED to stream some opera last week because the Met is giving people the opportunity to stream previously filmed operas for free, but I think everyone else had the same idea, so their server was being slow and we didn't manage to watch one. We also watched Wall-E the other night - I forgot how cute that movie is! I've also continued to do my workouts because those already took place at home.


Yesterday, I worked on our taxes while Peter sat down and finally recorded all of his piano compositions to date (they sound amazing!!). He's hoping to put out an album soon, so stay tuned for that! We haven't actually played any board games yet simply because my brain has been fried by the end of each day. It makes it hard to focus on the things I'd like to do during this time, like writing, but hopefully this week will be smoother. Basically, our lives have been a bit uninteresting as of late, but we have each other and we're healthy, and that's really all that matters.


Friends, as hard as it is to practice social distancing, I strongly believe and hope this will ultimately be for our good, not only for this nation but for the global community as well. Thank the people who work in your grocery stores, at your gas stations, at your favorite takeout restaurants, and at your hospitals, the people who don't have the ability to work from home but have been blessing us with the work they're doing to keep us going. Try doing something you've been wanting to do but never had the free time to do. Take this time to catch up with family or friends you haven't talked to in a while. Learn a new skill. Check on your neighbors and see if there's anything you can do to help. And remember that I'm just a message or a phone call away. <3

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