Items

• 
  2020-04-06

  Hospital COVID-19 Visitors Rule

  This call was informing her a month before her due date that she was NOT allowed, visitors. This was one of the many different calls that caused a nerve-racking feeling. We had been in quarantine for about three weeks and it was determined that she had to go through this all alone. This call was very important because it is something you never want to be taken away from you. Sharing moments like these with your family are very valuable and in a very tough situation, you need a support system. Her spouse was not allowed either. The last month of her pregnancy she had to face alone up until the moment she was in the labor delivery room. At this point, she feared she wouldn’t be allowed to have anybody in the room with her. Luckily, Massachusetts laws allowed her to have at least one.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-07-01

  Government Officials Send Coronavirus Safety Tips via Text Message

  Yesterday, late in the afternoon, I received two text messages which appear to come from Austin, Texas officials warning me of the increase spread of coronavirus in the area and encouraging me to take precations. They also encouraged people staying home and enjoying the upcoming fourth of July holiday with only their household members. After receiving these two text messages, in both English and Spanish, I also received a phone call with a recorded message expressing similar things. It should also be noted that I do not live in Austin or Travis County. I'm in the suburb of Leander in Williamson County.
• 
  2020-04-22

  Voicemail

  It talks about keeping you hands clean