Items

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  2020-05-10

  Mother’s Day Weekend in Carmel, CA – A Temporary Return to Normal

  In May 2020, during Mother’s Day weekend, my wife, Jennifer, our son, Evan, and I took a much-needed trip to Carmel on the coast of Northern California from our home in Sacramento—a roughly three-hour drive. Evan, a junior at an all-boys Catholic high school, had been doing virtual learning since March, and the isolation weighed heavily on him and our entire family. Carmel, with its clean and fresh ocean air and mountain views, was an excellent place to decompress and have a peaceful and relaxing respite from the turmoil of COVID-19. We stayed at a small boutique hotel we had visited before, where the staff was relieved to have guests again, though housekeeping and room service were unavailable. We spent much of our time outdoors, playing golf at Pebble Beach, relaxing at the beach, and avoiding the non-stop news coverage of COVID- 19. A major highlight was having our first restaurant meal in months at a famous seafood restaurant in Monterey, dining outdoors in a large tent, socially distanced, with masked servers and sanitization stations. Despite the refreshing break, reality set in when we returned home to Sacramento. The school year ended, and when the new one started remotely in August, it became clear normalcy was still far away. The high school canceled fall sports, masks remained required in public, and the weight of restrictions continued. Over the summer, we spent time by the pool, with my son gradually having friends over more often. The memories of Carmel faded as the pandemic’s grip continued. The short return to normal was only temporary, and life remained in limbo for months to come.
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  2022-05-15

  Bahamas 2022 - First Trip Post-Covid

  My first trip in the post-covid era was to the Bahamas in May 2022. It had been years since I was last out of the country. The family of one of my close friends has a timeshare and I was invited to spend a week down there with a handful of friends. Heading into the 2022 trip, I was nervous about international travel, especially to a place I had never been before. The fact that I was with my friends made things a little more comfortable for me, but I still didn’t know what to expect or if I would even be able to make it to the Bahamas and back home. See, at the time the Bahamas still required a negative covid test to enter the country as part of their “covid visa” protocol. The country also required a negative test to leave the country. The friends I was with were very cavalier when it came to covid and covid restrictions. I was nervous, and I was and am considered high risk due to the nature of my asthma, but I was still determined to have a good time with my friends… and it ended up being one of the greatest trips I ever went on. New experiences, new food, a break from my life (which had become aggressively difficult to deal with), that trip was everything I had hoped it would be. I always kept a mask in my pocket just in case, but the nature of the negative covid test at least gave me some peace of mind that I’d be okay. The picture I included is of a smaller part of the group - 5 guys having a time on a lazy river. I remember laughing hysterically with each lap we did. That was the first time post-covid where I finally felt free and relaxed.
• 2020-07-13

  Running to Have a Feeling of Escaping Pandemic

  With no long commute time to and from school, running became something I did often. I would go to the park and look at the lake after my run to see the sunset. I got to appreciate being outside more and getting fresh air. To feel the breeze by my sides as I ran. was relieving.
• 2020-04-01

  Pumpkin Spice Candles

  One thing that captures a sensory memory that relates to the COVID-19 pandemic for me is candles, specifically pumpkin spice candles. My wife and myself, like many other people, spent the majority of 2020 shut inside our home. Prior to this pandemic, we would often go out 3-4 nights a week. Nothing crazy, of course. Dinner, bowling, movie, etc. Typical married couple dates. However, once we were shut inside our house, we had to find other little things to occupy our time so we wouldn’t go stir crazy. My wife started buying a lot of scented candles from Amazon, and her favorite was pumpkin spice. I swear, my apartment smelled like pumpkin spice from about April of 2020 to January of 2021. The scent helped her relax, and it made me happy to know that she was finding ways to keep herself settled and centered. Now, whenever I’m out somewhere and catch a scent of pumpkin, I think of the two of us trapped in the apartment but working together to make the whole experience into a positive. I know that this is probably more of a sentimental story than what we were supposed to write, but this is what first came to my mind when I saw this assignment.
• 
  2021-02-12

  #JOTPYSilver submission from Dr. Averill Earls

  #jotpySilver @covid19archive1 Weekly paint nights (virtually) with friends. Relaxing, fun, catching up... and now I have a room full of art @lmansley @jackiantonovich @EmmaLeigh117 @Every50pages @k8_lister
• 2020-12-17

  Relaxation to being Brain dead

  During COVID I have learned how much I actually missed school. When COVID first hit I was happy, no school, and time to relax, but then sports and hanging with friends stopped. Going to school is really where I saw my friends and it was time to socialize and learn. I went brain dead during quarantine that when school started i was completely lost and out of it. I say i miss school because online learning is tough and not enjoyable. I learned that school was actually kinda fun. When cases started too slowly decrease many places opened back up and hanging with friends were aloud with caution, this was the time when life started to feel normal again, until it wasn't. December we start to see a rise to cases and we are no longer aloud to see people and the stay at home order has been in place.
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  2020-08-26

  Mini COVID Vacation

  This video represents a small handful of times I got to hang out with a friend while attempting to distance myself during the pandemic over the summer. It was taken in August, between our Summer and Fall semesters, on a mini-vacation to get away and take our minds off the craziness happening around us. My friend, Marly, came up to my family’s small cottage on Lake Winnipesaukee and we got to spend a few days relaxing. At the time, things started to open up again under the guidelines, and we were able to safely visit attractions and explore the area. What I like about this looped video, which was taken at Castle in the Clouds, is that upon first glance you might think this was taken at any time pre-pandemic. When Marly is turned around, you cannot see the mask as she takes a photo of the lake, but when she turns around it comes into view. It immediately speaks to when this loop was taken, which I find interesting. In the future, people will instantly be able to place a photo or video that was taken during COVID just by what people are wearing and doing.
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  2020-11-18

  Meditation during the Pandemic

  Anxiety is something that is not fun to deal with especially during a pandemic when we have no one to talk to or can't really go out much. A way that helps me calm down is meditation whether it be turning off the lights and lighting up a scented candle or just going outside and take a breath of fresh air. These new creative ways that were taught to me by a Professor at St. Mary's University has helped me a lot in different situations. Lying down with a scented candle helps relieve your stress or anxiety by calming you down and not thinking about the situation that is happening around us. Doing this for ten minutes a day really does make a difference in your everyday life. Going outside for a breath a fresh air is also very calming because you would be outside your house and looking at nature really does help forget about the pandemic that we are dealing with. So whenever you are feeling anxious a candle or going outside can help relax your thoughts and body.
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  2020-11-15

  The Healing Power of Music

  My friend Sarah who currently lives as St. Mary's University sent me pictures of the way she gets through her anxiety which is with music. The pictures that she provided show that the Healing Power of Music is a way to escape all the chaos that is happening in our lives around us. This shows when there is no where else to turn music always seem to have your back by providing comfort.
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  2020-06-20

  Summer Plans Thwarted by Coronavirus

  Summer is something that I have always looked forward to, either as a student or as a teacher. It is time to decompress, relax, and mentally prepare for the upcoming academic year. Usually a good summer consists of travel, music/art festivals, and a whole of mingling with friends and strangers alike. Although flights and cruises are cheaper than ever, social distancing and the fear of the coronavirus has limited opportunities to have a fun summer. It means getting creative with the ways that fun can be had in the middle of a pandemic.
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  04/08/2020

  Living through Covid-19: 04/08/2020

  This is a journal entry that specifically focuses on the transition to online learning and the practice of social distancing. *anonymous *This was intentionally a journal/diary entry therefore it was done through a word doc.
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  2020-04-25

  New Ritual

  I used to hate baths. The tub too shallow, the water lukewarm. But my husband fixed the hot water heater so I could immerse my body into steaming water, sweat out the impurities of fear and indecision, lethargy and tears for what has been lost. It's a new Ritual. Day 30 of coronavirus lockdown in Aurora, Colorado
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  2020-03-14

  Stay at Home

  Great image reminiscent of the Great Depression making the rounds on social media.