Quarantine Day 1

Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) has been in the news in Canada for a week or two. People worldwide have been looking to Italy and China (where it originated) to learn what to expect and what to do.

Our city (Edmonton) has had a handful of confirmed cases here and there but nobody had panicked. Until last night. Sunday night at 5 pm, we learned that there had been 17 new cases, taking our province from 39 cases to 56 in one day.

Schools were to be closed immediately and indefinitely. Suddenly parents and caregivers had found themselves in the precarious position of trying to arrange child care or staying home from work.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, our province's Chief Medical Officer has been our eyes and ears on the virus through out our province. We've come to look forward to her daily address regarding the growth of the pandemic. She had indicated that should schools close, they would likely be that way until September (read - 5 months of break!)

This morning we woke up. We had breakfast together. We stayed in our pajamas.

I kept watching the news and scanning social media for any hint of what was to happen. The general consensus is that nobody has any answers. All we know is that our kids are not to be in school.

Teachers have empty classrooms. Students have unfinished projects.

There are rumors that online curriculum delivery is being looked at, but nobody really knows how that will be done or even when it will begin (if at all).

Today feels weird.

There's something to be said for routine. Especially when that routine is ripped out from under you without warning.

One of the moms posted on Facebook that belongings are scheduled to be picked up from school this week.

I scanned schoolzone (our primary resource/communication with the school) and found my allotted time window.

I went to the school to collect my daughter's things which had been carefully bagged by her teacher.

I can't even begin to describe the emotion that came over me as I made eye contact with the administrators and teachers who mold my kids.

The experience was two fold for me because I work in that very same school and have found myself suddenly unemployed. I realized that I may not see some of those kids again because they may move away or begin Junior High. I realized I had only handed out birthday donuts to half of those kids and I have NEVER in 7 years missed a student's birthday. I realized I wasn't "finished" with my daughter's teacher this year; that our daily communication back and forth to help my daughter be successful was something I counted on and enjoyed.

Nevertheless, I had a job to do. I grabbed Evie's stuff and ran to my office to collect the handful of things I had left there anticipating a return to work today.

I had some tearful conversations, some "I'll miss yous" and some elbow bumps that wanted desperately to be hugs as I said some "see you hopefully soons" to those people I work with and love so dearly.  I managed to have a quick chat with one or two parents that I encountered only because our last name begins with the same letter.

My half hour was up. My time in the building had to be closed on the day to allow the next batch of parents through, trying to maintain social isolation and mitigate the virus' spread,

I went home and found a glass of wine and finished crying. I walked my dog, dusted myself off and readied dinner.