Items

• 
  2021-01-16

  In Grey

  It's an expression of my pain fro. Losing my daddy and it helps me to heal to tell the story thru music and video like this.
• 2021

  At Home

  The pandemic had caused us all to stay home, families were all living all day everyday together. For me this meant that I was spending more time with them, more than usual. Before the pandemic had started, my family ran on the same routine everyday, me and my siblings would go off to school, my mom is a stay at home mom so she would spend her time taking care of the house, and my dad would go off to work, he has his own construction business. The only time we were really home together as a family would be the hours my dad would be off of work from after around 7pm. When I was younger he would work many more hours, sometimes as long as 5am-8pm but the point is, he was barely ever home but to spend an hour or two with us and then he would sleep. I did have a good relationship with my dad and so many memories as well but the quality time wasn't really there. It is not like he didn't want to be around but it was that he wanted to work more while he was younger so that he could invest into his retirement and save up more while he can. Once the pandemic started, he was home with us much more. Of course this came with both pros and cons, such as having that quality time with him, but it also meant that there were much more disagreements since we were all together all day everyday. One of my favorite memories from those days were when we had ordered a whole lot of board games and jenga blocks to keep my younger brother entertained (and off of electronics as much as possible). My dad loves to bring in his construction wherever and whenever he can. He would take my brother's jenga blocks and make buildings with it and show off how he so thoughtfully made it so that it can actually hold weight and its not just good looking. The pandemic changed my dad's relevancy. Once lockdown was over, and he was back at work, he started working less hours making sure he would be home by 5pm or 6pm at most and he would spend his evenings with us again. The pandemic changed my life in many ways but my dad is always the first person I think of when I remember those days. He truly does try to stay as relevant in our lives as he can even when he is tired and it's great seeing the effort he puts in.
• 2021-09-24

  How COVID-19 affected me and my family

  September 24th 2021. It was just another normal day in the new pandemic experience, most of my day was spent on Zoom doing online classes for about four hours of the day. Today was different because I had an orthodontist appointment to finally have my braces removed after about 2.5 years of them on. As almost everyone else, I was finally excited to have my braces taken off and actually see my new smile. So after my 2 classes my mom drove me to the orthodontist and left me in the office to go run other errands. After leaving to do so, I had gotten my braces remove in what was really fast time compared to what I had envisioned. So when I had finished up and scheduled a future appointment for my retainer fitting I called my mom to see when she was going to pick me up and no response. I left a message and then called my dad. Again no response. I texted him and he said, “(Name) come home by bus. Mom had to go” I didn’t think much of it so I took the bus home. After I got home I called out in the house and had no response so I walked in normally, taking off my shoes and sweater. I walked into my parents bedroom and seen my parents on the bed. My mom almost curled up teary eyed and tissues next to her. My dad sitting on the edge of the bed next to her holding the tissue box. Obviously with the circumstances of that time, my heart sunk thinking someone died. COVID-19 is known to be fairly hard on the geriatric population so when my grandma from my mothers side had gotten it the night before, we were all on edge. My mom didn’t say a word, so my dad took me outside the room and said something. I still to this day can’t recall what he was saying and I just walked away. To this day I’ve been afraid to ask of the specifics, all I know was that she was alone in the hospital because of the country she was in had strict hospital visitation policies. I still don’t know how to deal with these emotions because honestly she was the person I loved the most second to my mother. She helped raise me and made me into the man I am today. Thank You وداد
• 
  2022-09-09

  Back in Boston

  The story is of me and my father going to see the Red Sox play at Fenway. The hat in the picture is the one I got at ballpark. It is important to me because it was the resumption of a tradition that me and my father have done for years.
• 
  2020-05-27

  Rosalind Leon Oral History, 2020/05/27

• 
  2020-12-01

  Jeff Stutler II Oral History, 2020/12/01

  This is an audio recording about my family's challenges in being with my father when he had a stroke in December of 2020. Forced distancing during family emergencies can be quite a scary experience.
• 
  2021-10-08

  My covied-19 experience: Ella McMullen

  My name is Ella McMullen, I live in Nampa Idaho. I go to Lone Star middle school. When Covied-19 started I was 11 years old, Covied has affected millions of people. My family is one of them. When my mom and dad got covied my brother, sister, and I all went to live with my grandparents. We lived with my grandparents for about 3 weeks. While we were living with my grandparents, my mom got the bad side of Covied. She ended up having to go to the hospital, she had to go because of her breathing. She had to have around 14 litters of air while she was in the hospital. Thankfully, she was only there for about a week. When she got out, she had to still be on air. So, it was difficult when we had to go out because we had to make sure we had the air tank full, and we had an extra one with us just in case. My mother was on air for about 6 months. After my mom got better, she was really stressed. My dad was still sick, but he thankfully did not go to the hospital. My dad was only sick for about 2 weeks. He got the safer side of covied. That is how covied affected my life.
• 
  2020-06

  Virtual college graduation

  My daughter being congratulated by my father at her virtual college graduation at my home June 2020. Reminder of all of the important life cycle events that were cancelled or made virtual.
• 
  2021-09-27

  Unexpected

  It's a descriptive story of how covid has affected my life and its important to me because it has a long term affect.
• 
  2020-03

  March 2020: A Life-changing Month

  The year 2020 was looking to be much like other years that I spent in college. I was going to be going to classes, meeting up with friends, and working out most days. As March approached, my excitement grew. Spring break was coming, and I had a scheduled trip to Cancun, Mexico. There was talk of a virus spreading through China, but it was very unknown to us. Prior to our trip, we joked about contracting the virus. Little did we know, that would be the week living in the world the way we knew it. My trip to Mexico was everything I wanted it to be and more, but I was ready to come home and finish the semester. We came back from Mexico, and I returned to Duquesne. Within one week of my return, everything changed. Universities around the country started to close for, what we thought at the time, two weeks. Duquesne followed suit. School did not return that semester and the entire country began to shut down. There was a lot of fear and unknown. One minute I was having the trip of a lifetime, and the next minute I was at home with my family only leaving to get groceries. We began using masks everywhere we went, using hand sanitizer many times a day, and staying as far away from others as possible. Although life felt like it completely stopping, the pandemic allowed my family and I to experience something that we might never get to experience again: over a month of quality time together. I was now doing school via zoom and my father, brother, and uncle were home from work. During this time, my family spent a lot of time together. My father and I would find interesting ways to work out every day since our gym had been shut down (see artifact image for a picture of my watch after completing a weighted vest walk. We began these weighted vest walks during the pandemic.). We would watch Netflix series as a family, do puzzles, and even play board games together. I will never forget these memories, even though they were accompanied by fear of the Coronavirus.
• 
  2021-08-28

  Visiting Grandma

  This photograph is from when my mom, dad, brother, brother's fiancé, and I flew to Georgia to visit my declining grandmother. For my entire life, my grandma, my mom's mom, lived in the next town over, only about seven miles away. However, as she aged and as the isolation from the pandemic set in, my family decided that it would be best for her to move to Georgia to live with my aunt, my mom's sister. Although we tried to take care of my grandma from the start of the pandemic through when she left in October of 2020, we lived in perpetual uncertainty and fear of exposing her to the virus. Every time we had her come over for dinner, we were afraid that we were taking a gamble, especially when the pandemic was just starting. My grandma moved to a care facility in Georgia in April. Since my grandma, my family, and I were all vaccinated, we planned a short trip to make sure we got to see her one more time. Although we were masked and only had a limited amount of time, getting to see us again meant a tremendous amount to my grandma.
• 
  2021-11-24

  Walking at Bear Hole with Dad

  I took this photograph with my dad when we went for a walk one day at Bear Hole, the reservoir in my town. Since the pandemic started, my dad and I would go for walks with each other, exploring new places and talking about life. My dad had recently gotten laid off, and I had made the decision in early October to study remotely instead of on campus, so we both had some extra time on our hands. We had our set of usual places that we would go to walk, but the pandemic allowed us to venture to some new spots. Even though we knew Bear Hole was so close by, neither one of us had gone to explore it much. We would plan our walks around my class and work schedule, being sure that we made time for each other a few times a week. Although making the decision to study remotely was a difficult decision because I was a senior and would be away from my friends and professors, I got to spend time with my dad in a way that we were never able to before.
• 
  07/09/2021

  Joseph Giangreco-Marotta Oral History, 2021/07/09

  Wife interviews husband about COVID-19 experience.
• 
  2021-06-02

  Family Life During COVID-19

  The experience of how life changed during COVID-19 was a rather pleasant change of pace from how life had traditionally functioned. As soon as the pandemic happened and the transition to remote work and school took place I realized how little the amount of time was that we spent with the people we live with. Instead of heading out the door to an office before everyone was even awake everyday I was able to see me family every morning before we went off to our respective work spaces for school or work. Having three teenagers usually means kids disappear from the house but for the last year I have been home with them every day and it has made for relationships as close as when they were small children. My partner and I are able to see each other much more often and spend time together we never would have had outside of quarantine. While it appears the change to remote school will be going away my transition to working from home will be permanent for the foreseeable future. While I do find there are way more advantages than disadvantages for me in working from home it would definitely be better for the kids to be in physical school rather than distance learning. They will all be vaccinated by the fall and return to in person school leaving me home by myself during the day. While I am excited for many of the aspects of the eventual return to normalcy I will miss the time I had spending the days with my family. While I will miss the kids I sincerely doubt there will ever come a time where I look forward to going back to an office.
• 
  2020-08-07

  El artículo que nunca quise escribir sobre la muerte de mi padre por coronavirus

  Natalia Martin Cantero comparte su experiencia con el virus. Describe como llevaba meses ecribiendo de las experiencias de otros y nunca se imagino que estubiera escribiendo de su vida personal. Su padre callo enfermo en Enero, termino en cuidado intensivos y fallecio en Abril de complicaciones a los 75 años. Natalia Martin Cantero shares her experience with the virus. She describes how she spent months writing about others' experiences and never thought she would be writing about her personal life. Her father became ill in January, ended up in an intensive care unit, and passed away in April at the age of 75.
• 
  2021-01-21

  While holding hands husband, wife die from COVID-19 days after 70th wedding anniversary

  The increasing death toll from COVID-19 has devastated many families on a personal level. One instance illustrates that like no other. An Ohio couple that had recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary both passed away minutes apart, leaving behind seven decades of memories, five children, 13 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. Dick and Shirley Meek celebrated their anniversary on Dec. 22. It was then when they innocuously told their children they were feeling a little under the weather. "They said to all us kids, 'we think we're getting colds,'" said Kelly Meek. But suddenly, things got bad and it was evident this was no mere cold. On Jan. 8, they both tested positive for COVID-19. When things started to worsen for both of them, the family asked for them to be together for their final moments. Hospital staff found a room for two beds and the necessary equipment. Dick and Shirley died in each other's arms on Jan. 16. They were due to get the COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 19.
• 
  2021-03-16

  Bill's Against Trans Children

  Verified Reposted from @chasestrangio PLEASE TAKE ACTION TODAY. 1. Watch this video of a father begging his government not to silence his trans daughter’s spirit. 2. Share this video and raise all the alarms to #ProtectTransKids. 3. Help contact South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and tell her to veto HB1217 a bill that bars trans kids from sports and forces all kids to turn over private medical information to the state. Gov. Noem could sign the bill at any moment. Call! 605-773-3212. E-mail: governornoem@state.sd.us. 4. Help share info about Alabama bill SB10/HB1 which makes it a FELONY to provide gender affirming care to trans people under 19. The House is voting TODAY. Call Alabama Reps and tell them to Vote NO on SB10. I am not exaggerating when I say trans kids’ lives are on the line. Act now!!
• 
  2021-01-25

  Voices for Ethnic & Multicultural Awareness (VEMA) Gathered to Honor Estavon Elioff and Eddie Uti

  Voices for Ethnic & Multicultural Awareness (VEMA) and community members gathered to honor the lives of Estavon Elioff and Eddie Uti from the Iron Range region of Minnesota. Elioff was a 19-year-old Latinx male who was shot and killed while unarmed by Sheriff's deputies in Mountain Iron, MN last year. There is an active investigation into his death by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Eddie Uti was a 29-year-old Samoan father of two from Hibbing, MN found dead in 2020. His last known contact was with the Itasca Sheriff's department. A medical examiner’s report revealed he died from a drowning after being “found floating near the shore of Pokegama Lake.”
• 
  2021-02-14

  Essential vs. Expendable Workers

  When the pandemic broke out, I was caught in the whirlwind of being an essential worker. I was a manager at my local McDonalds, so I've seen just how cruel people can be, and how corporations have continued to neglected their workers. Many people are minimum wage workers, and its frightening to know that such a large population is suffering so much, only to receive little appreciation and change. Through my personal story, I hope to have readers step in the shoes of a minimum wage worker than a pandemic, so when they step out, they'll raise awareness on the issue of lack of support and care for minimum wage workers.
• 
  2020-03-13

  The Silver Lining

  On March 13th, the day after my birthday, I had treated myself to finally getting my septum pierced after wanting that piercing for months beforehand. Little did I know then that I would be almost the only one that has seen it in person since then. Two days after that, we had received an email from our university’s administration informing us that we would be allowed to leave school and continue classes online at home if we felt unsafe at school as concerns of the virus got bigger and louder with each passing day. The writing was on the wall; Duquesne University was going to be closing down. That email would come on the car ride back home an hour after me and my sister had already left campus. Once the semester was over and summer began, even with our own specific set of challenges, I actually feel my family was surprisingly equipped to handle the new world we were thrust into. Both of my parents are severely disabled; my mother has not been physically able to work for years and my father recently had to give up his floor cleaning services once his health gave out. As a family, we’ve found that we are much stronger together, and we “make it work” as they say. My mom did have a little fun in responding to our physically healthy friends and family talking about being trapped in their house for months on end with “Welcome to the club, you get used to it.” She was always (mostly) joking, of course, but I do think there is some truth to this joke. I grew up with a mom who rapidly succumbed to multiple debilitating chronic disorders, and that kind of circumstance opens your eyes to different experiences than many of your peers who did not experience the same. Listening to the words of more people than I can count who thought being disabled was all about staying home and collecting a check have now maybe had their opinions changed based on this new perspective, I hope so at least. This all being said, I also have to acknowledge the privilege I have in having a socially stable homelife. I personally know more than a few friends from school who had genuine, serious concerns for their mental or physical wellbeing when we were told everyone had to return home. I try to remember every day not to take what I have for granted. If the plague year has taught me anything, it is that I have a lot to be grateful for.
• 2021-02-02

  First Round Vaccines!

  I stayed up late Monday night and headed over to my parents house around midnight. Their appointments were at 2:48 AM (and I had a time getting them appointments together), but we were planning to arrive early and expected to spend hours in line. I made myself a thermos of coffee and loaded an extra air tank into the car for my dad, in case the wait was longer than one tank’s capacity, and reminded both parents to bring their phones and tablets. It felt a little bit like loading up my niece and nephew for a road trip. We drove out to the stadium, the suburb’s quiet and empty, then followed the signs to the appropriate parking lot. It was surprisingly empty and I wove the car through the cones set up to guide a much longer line. We arrived at the first of three drive-thru tents, where my parents answered a set of questions about their health and medications. The car acquired a bit of caution tape on the side mirror and some notes on the window about blood thinners. At the third tent, they got their shots. We parked and waited thirty minutes rather than the standard fifteen since Mom has a penicillin allergy. They got their shots at 1:36 AM and we were released to leave at 2:06. We were back at their house before the original appointment time. I unloaded the air tanks and said my good nights then drove through the silent streets back to my apartment.
• 
  2021-01-29

  Letter to future generations - Pandemic experience

  I submitted a letter or my experience of this pandemic. The reason why it’s important is because it tells my experience of the pandemic and describes what affect it had on me. It relates to the pandemic because it tells a story of how I feel during it.
• 
  2021-01-20

  Pancakes for Dinner

  My junior year in high school isn't like any other school year because I could describe it as probably the bumpiest roller coaster I've ever been on. This is because I get to watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix during lunch and lay in bed while logging onto zoom for classes. But the downside is I've been simply alone and away from friends or even teachers for that matter, that I'm supposed to see every week day. Facetime calls are never the same as meeting up with someone in real life so that goes for making up time away from actual school, but I've learned to cherish these moments I have. My family is home majority of the time, and I get to hear my dad play his guitar more often or stay up late with my mom watching Sinister 2 or play Call of Duty Cold War with my brothers. Whatever it is, I'm grateful for this break away from the usual, and I have the opportunity to focus on myself for once. Before quarantine, school was draining me out as I had early classes and I really needed a break, so fortunately, I got one. I've finally found time to think about what I truly want to do in life, and what my future plans are for college because I never really got the time for that during school. I've learned a lot about my interests as well and even time for self-care and all the girly pamper routines. Some days I like to treat myself with homemade pancakes, my favorite, and eat them at any time of day just because I can and I can make them whenever I'd like. Staying home has its pros and cons, but as of now, its important to follow strict protocols in order to safely recover and protect others! so don't forget to wear a mask and social distance when you leave the house because we're all in this together!!
• 
  2021-01-18

  In just five weeks, another 100,000 people have died from Covid-19

  From article: "Each day, thousands of Americans have lost a mother, a husband, a last surviving sibling. These are some of the lives who were lost."
• 
  2021-01-17

  My Covid-19 Experience

  The essay I've submitted demonstrates the societal issues that the pandemic has helped to unmask as well as serving as a personal documentation of my own journey.
• 2021-01-11

  COVID

  A conversation I had probably back in February was with my dad. We had talked about what would happen if the virus came over here to America. He said that the stock market would crash, people would panic and go to mass hysteria, we would obviously have to quarantine too along with not letting people into stores and such. It did worry me at first but I had my doubts of much happening, although there still was a part of me that believed it would happen. But now that we're here I'm surprised he was able to accurately guess what would happen if the virus did come over here. When it first arrived, everyone panicked and stock piled on toilet paper or whatever, the stock market has been doing bad but I think it's gotten better, we were in quarantine for a while and those of us who are sick are still doing self quarantine. The stores and restaurants now have opened back up, some maybe just for pick up and stuff. The self quarantine has changed me a lot though, it really affected me negatively along with a lot of my friends and people I know. The stress and anxiety of just everything going on has worsened my mental state by a lot.
• 
  2021-01-06

  The Year Of The Rat

  It was a dark, humid day in Westlake Village, California. as an avid member of the meme community, I was awake at 2:37 in the morning, looking at memes through tired, groggy eyes. I could hear my father typing away on his obnoxiously loud computer down the hall, endlessly working his heart out. My pet dog, Uma the pug, was snoring at the foot of the bed as I continued scrolling down the page, amusing myself. it got to a certain meme making fun of some "new black plague" originating in China, in its very early stages. I thought that couldn't possibly be true, as we are too advanced to be susceptible to some pandemic. fast forward towards the end of the year, and my entire reality. has been changed. you cant go into public without a blue, N95 mask covering your mouth and nose, hand sanitizer, toilet paper and water have all but disappeared from the supermarkets and grocery stores. I would sit in front of my computer, schooling from across a flat, lifeless screen. All because a warning went unheeded
• 2020-04

  The Pain of Teaching at Home

  This is story like many others during this time. The work of a parent with kids sent home for e-learning. Though I had a background in education, having an M.A. in Education, this was a task that was a difficult one that my education and years of teaching could not help me. The first task is explaining to younger children why they have to stay home. Especially when we as adults are unable to truly grasp what is going on. The second part is trying to motivate students to learn when the school was not ready for this type of teaching. Though the teachers tried, the manner of teaching was a difficult one that led great stress during this time. To add to it, the consistency and norm for the children was shattered which required me to try to recreate that same standard, yet another difficult task. Added onto that, is a child that struggles with reading, which most of the assignments were backed by, instead of the lecture they were used to. The first step was trying to set the norm for them. Breakfast, work, break, work, lunch, work, done. Though it sounds simple, with two separate students with different educational abilities, and drive for success, keeping one on task while the other was done or finishing faster was a task. Aiding them was truly difficult. Some of the difficulties came from my teaching experience being middle and high school not elementary. The next being understanding some of the finer points of the material being taught, I found myself having to learn the material to then teach the material to my children. To compound it further, there is the social aspect of being stuck at home with out the interaction they needed for their peers. Though I fancy myself a “cool” dad, I will never measure up to my kids’ friends. Attempting to fill this void was significantly more difficult than being their teacher. Though my kids did not have near the growth they would have received academically while being in school, they did not lose intelligence and picked up some knowledge along the way. Though it took tears, patience, drive and resilience, it was a time that we can all reflect on and hope it never happens again, which it did, 5 months later, but everyone was better prepared and the lessons learned from the springs allowed for greater success on the second go. Here is to hoping it doesn’t happen again!!!
• 
  2020-10-13

  The end of quiet time in the home.

  I am very lucky. I have a job that allows me to work 12-hour shifts, which means I have three or four days off a week. I used to have the time while my daughter was at school and my wife (a teacher) was at work to relax or work on my master's classes. These classes take concentration and time to read and write, and noise is very distracting to me. I should also mention that we purposely bought a small house, less than 1300 sq. feet. Suddenly in March, 2020, my world (at the risk of sounding selfish) was changed. My wife was teaching from home, juggling rooms back and forth with me for computer usage etc., while my daughter was asking for help with school. The voice mail attached is a memory I have of my comfortable little environment changing. This particular voicemail surely caused stress and anxiety to the parents of 16,000 students in one district. Even today listening to it feels ominous. Ironically, today I dropped my daughter off for the first time at in-person school, and I was sad to see her go. *Voicemail sound file from my child's school district announcing school closures.
• 2020-04-20

  Cherry wood and the smoker

  My submission to the Covid-19 sensory archive was about the smell and texture of cherry wood chips. During the first month of the Covid19 pandemic my father quarantined with my husband, daughters, and I. After a week or so of organizing, deep cleaning, and binge watching we decided we should find something else to do. My husband had been gifted a small wood smoker a few years ago and my father decided he was going to figure out how to smoke different types of foods. The first few attempts were less than stellar, with large flames, boiled water overflowing out of the bottom of this smoker but after another week he was doing quite well. He had ordered several different types of woods, chunks, and chips, almond and orange etc. I had not been a huge fan of anything he had done but it was keeping him, my husband, and my three-year-old entertained so it was fine. Finally, after his many attempts he came to me with mozzarella cheese he had smoked with cherry wood from our own trees. It tasted so good! I was thoroughly impressed with what he had accomplished. After that I helped him chop the wood and do various other things as he tried different recipes. Now anytime I move those wood chips around my pantry or smell the residual cherry wood smoke on the smoker in our side yard I think of that first month in quarantine. All the memories and recipes and the time in the middle of a pandemic where we got to slow down stay home and figure out how to use a smoker. I think that was a recurring event for a lot of people that were fortunate to get to quarantine with family. My family and I are typically terribly busy with various activities and jobs that we must run from one to the other and never get to have time to slow down and enjoy time with each other.
• 2020-07-10

  Fear of the Unknown

  Although I have been fortunate enough to say that no one in my family has contracted the virus thus far, that's not to say that it hasn't had an impact. Since the discovery of the virus, there has been an abundance of mixed information, terrifying rumors, and confusing data. There have been times when one could think there was nothing to worry about, and other times when one could feel uncomfortable leaving his/her home. Overall, the most terrifying part for me is all the things we don't know about what's going on. Along with that, is not knowing when you or a family member might have it. I'm sure we have all had our scares during this crisis, but one in particular really frightened me. My dad has been in and out of hospitals for over 5 years now, and it has been a rollercoaster of emotions for me and my twin sister. The most recent time he was in the hospital, he was transferred from my small hometown to a hospital here in Phoenix. In his condition, and after everything he has lived through, we knew that he would not survive if he contracted the virus. It sounds pessimistic, but if I were to go in-depth about his medical history, anyone would agree. With that being said, we were terrified about him being in a major phoenix hospital at the peak of the pandemic. Not to mention the medical facilities he would have to regularly go to after the fact. So far, he has not contracted the virus, but the stress remains present even more so than it has been in the past. Sometimes the stress and concerns that these types of disasters cause are just as impactful as the disaster itself, and COVID-19 has proved that to be true more than ever.
• 
  09/18/2020

  Victor Madsen Oral History, 2020/09/18

  Victor Madsen is a freshman at Northeastern University. He went to a high school in Florida, and he shares his experiences since the beginning of the pandemic. Mr. Madsen shares his story about how he was stuck in the Bahamas for a long time due to changes in traveling policies during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-05-11

  Nick Maleno's Covid-19

  This story explains what i did to help my get through the first part of this pandemic.
• 
  2020-06-20

  Another Day, Another Puzzle - Day 99

  With calendars cleared as a result of shelter-in-place orders we have had more time to enjoy some of our family's favorite past-times. Cards and board games that were collecting dust have made their way out of cabinets. But what we've spent more time on than anything is puzzling. While each member of our family will puzzle here and there, our 5 year old son is a constant at the puzzle board. His attention and focus to puzzling is way beyond his years. Puzzling has given us the gifts of togetherness, joy, and consistency during these uncertain times. It was dad's turn for a photo with the completed puzzle! These two had a lot of fun completing this puzzle together and did this in just one afternoon. Dad recently got his "summer cut" from his sister, a former hair stylist, that we live with. Our son continues to refuse to allow us to cut his hair. It is getting so long! Tomorrow we will have sheltered-in-place for 100 days. 100 DAYS. This was supposed to last 14 days. How much longer will this be our reality?
• 
  2020-02-15

  Daddy in Hospital

  He is a father fight COVID-19 in Fangcang Hospital which has the most patients almost in China. On his protective suit, he wrote wish his daugher happy every day. This is so warm that other doctors will become more powerful and have sympathy.
• 
  05/19/2020

  Coincidencia

  Cartoon reflecting on the first day children were allowed to go outside in Peru following quarantine. They were permitted to go outside for the first time, within 5 blocks of their home on Monday, May 18 2020.
• 
  2020-05-15

  My COVID-19 Experience

  My name is Kylan Ritchie. I am a fourteen-year-old freshman from a small town near Clarksville, Tennessee. I am homeschooled due to the fact that I am a professional actress. COVID-19 did not have any effect on my school however, it has had a temporary effect on my job. I normally have a summer acting job but, due to COVID-19, I will be spending my summer at home. During my time in quarantine, which started on March 18th, I have learned various things about myself, my friends, and my family. Personally, I have learned that when I set my mind to something, in this circumstance, that was school, I can achieve a lot more than I believed. I learned that I am a procrastinator and that is something that I am attempting to fix. Also, I have learned that I do, in fact, have the mental stability to stay locked away in my house for long periods of time. My situation is different in comparison to my friends because of my father and grandmother. My dad has a heart condition and will be turning sixty this year and consequently, he has a higher chance of getting the virus and it being life threatening. Likewise, my grandmother has severe asthma and has an even higher chance of dying if she were to catch the virus. Because of this, I have been strictly following the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines to shelter in place as well as the Tennessee government’s stay at home order. Although, it has been fairly difficult because my friends and family have not followed the same guidelines that I have been following. Many of my friends have not been social distancing at all after Tennessee’s government decided to lift its stay at home order. A few of my friends have found that seeing their boyfriends or girlfriends, seeing other friends, or going out to eat is more important than social distancing or quarantining. Some states have begun lifting their stay at home orders and have seen a spike in cases and deaths. In my home state of Tennessee specifically, phase one of reopening has begun. After the reopening began, there was a 130 percent increase in cases in Tennessee. In the U.S. according to recent updates, by May 14, 2020, there has been a total of 1.47 million confirmed cases with 88,144 deaths across the U.S. and it is rising every day. The amount of deaths correlating with COVID-19 has now surpassed the American death toll of both WWI and the Vietnam War. The sad thing is, the death toll and infection rate continues to climb however, many state governments have decided to open everything up once more, massive amounts of citizens are refusing to wear protection while out in public, and violence has begun between mask wearers and non-mask wearers. When we look back in America’s history, we can see how America was able to overcome various epidemics going back to the smallpox breakout from 1633-1634 that killed 70 percent of the Native American population. In the beginning, America never truly quarantined as many families in the 14th century had done during the Black Plague, also known as the Black Death, outbreak. One of the first mentions of quarantine due to an illness in America was during the yellow fever outbreak. After attempting to have state and local governments handle the containment of the illness with zero success, Congress passed the federal quarantine legislation in 1878. This did not conflict with the states’ rights, it showed that the federal government was ready to involve itself in the quarantine activities of America. The legislation gave the Surgeon General the ability to, “[m]ake and enforce such regulations as in his judgment are necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries into the States or possessions, or from one State or possession into any other State of possession.” Many epidemics in the U.S. such as the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 and the diphtheria epidemic of 1921-1925 have given me hope due to the fact that, in the end, a vaccine was created and licensed in order to lower the chance of America having another wave of that disease. For example, the Spanish flu, though it was horrible, and many people died from it, ended with the very first flu vaccine that would later stop millions of people from being infected. I believe that COVID-19, as of May 15, 2020, is far from over. There are still many waves to come unless people begin to quarantine and take precautions, or a vaccine is created. History shows that, in most cases, it takes a great deal of time to create a vaccine for diseases of this capacity. For this reason, I believe that many government related actions could be taken in order to prevent further spreading of the virus. In the end, I have decided to follow the advice of scientist and doctors who are seeing firsthand, what this virus is made of, what it does to a person’s body, and how it spreads.
• 
  2020-04-01

  “I don't think it has. I think it's just as strong as it was before.”

  “I don't think it has. I think it's just as strong as it was before.” “We've been gathering over social media platforms. We had continued to do our one stay Bible study but unfortunately the past two weeks we’ve been unable to do so hopefully in the next couple weeks they'll be back up and running again.” “Unfortunately, participation hasn't been at its best. However, I’ve been using all the teachings that our fathers at the church have taught us and I've been applying that to the past couple weeks of my life.”
• 
  2020-04-23

  Care For A Loved One

  The change in relationship of an adult and their parent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-01

  Remembering the life of Robert Nicholas Naifeh, Jr. (1957-2020)

  My father's obituary
• 
  2020-03-16

  Uplifting Songs, "Tomorrow"

  Father and daughter performance of song from the musical "Annie." Posted on Facebook as first in a series of "Uplifting Songs."
• 
  2020-03-20

  Quarentine and cooking

  My father, a medical doctor, using a mask during self-quarentine. He has been coughing and sneezing for two days now, but no tests are available yet.