It is a huge summer tradition in our family to go to the Orange County Fair. Even when we go somewhat ironically, we always have a great time. When the fair was cancelled this year, my mom and I decided we would run the fair for my kids at our house. We went all in. We made a “photo booth” and a theme, to emulate the somewhat cheesy themes the fair has every year. My daughter made rides and games, with tickets for purchase. There was an art exhibit, and a “carnival of products” where my daughter “sold” suncatchers she and her brother made. We awarded items in our garden with fair ribbons. And, most importantly, we home made every fair food you can imagine - Orange Julius, soft pretzels, sausages, grilled corn, corn dogs, funnel cake and more. Orange County Fair 2020, COVID, Quarantined, and Closed actually turned out to be a pretty amazing day!

As part of a virtual Girl Scout camp out, Karis, age 9, participates in a virtual art class to paint her version of "Starry Night." Girls Scouts has had activities every week of the summer to help girls continue to thrive.

On July 7, 2020, Heartspring, a special needs school and residential campus for autistic children and teens in Wichita, Kansas, announced that six of its school employees tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the immediate closure of its pediatric services building and surrounding facilities until further notice. Although all staff underwent testing, Heartspring administrators feared that the outbreak may not have been detected in time and were preparing for more cases to manifest in the coming days and weeks, with local authorities recognizing the outbreak as a COVID cluster. These photographs show the shuttered pediatrics services building and the neighboring residences; a silent testament to the burgeoning case load that swept the city, the state, and threatened its hospitals in the summer of 2020. It also recognizes the efforts of Heartspring staff in taking care of this vulnerable community.

My 7-year-old daughter and one of her best friends since the toddler room were signed up for their first year of softball and first team sport together. Then the Stay at Home order happened. The organizers kept asking us to hang on and wait and see if we could play this year. In June, they got the go ahead from the state for practices. I was on the fence, but they had good safety protocols in place and my daughter is high energy and very athletic, so I decided she could go ahead and play. So did her friend’s family. The girls have been good about wearing masks and kind of good at keeping 6 feet apart through the 2 weeks of practices. This week, which would have been the end of their regular season, they had their first game. At the end as we were leaving, they came up with this way to be together and connected while being safe and apart.

All the playgrounds were shut and it was school holidays. The kiddies had only bikes and walks as nothing was open at all during our period of lockdown. A young mother I vaguely knew was walking past one day and I said I was meaning to drag some bears out of the shed and she was so pleased as she was finding it hard to keep her 6 year old entertained. For the next 4 weeks they walked past every day and she sent me a message saying her young daughter was making up stories about Old Bear. In a very small way, Old Bear helped her and the other kiddies who would help out when they saw Old Bear. I felt in a small way we were helping to brighten someone's day.

My daughter was having the gymnastics season of her life in 2020, placing in every event at every meet, and even reaching #19 on America’s Top 100 for vault for her level. One of the last places we went before quarantine in March was a gymnastics competition and I remember being uneasy at the crowds and the fact that the girls used the same apparatuses and equipment throughout the day. No one else seemed concerned, and when I asked if State Championships were still happening, everyone looked at me like I was insane. Of course, two weeks later, everything shut down. She has now been away from gym for over three months - the longest she’s been without her coaches since she was 3 - and both State Championships and Regionals were cancelled. No word on whether there will even be a 2021 season. To keep up the morale of the team, her gym sent information about a virtual State Championship, where gymnastics could submit videos from previous meets and judges would watch and score. I submitted without telling her, because I wasn’t sure what to expect. When she received medals and a champion t-shirt in the mail because she scored 1st All Around for her level (first in every event) she looked happier than she has since quarantine began. It’s not USA Gymnastics sanctioned, so it doesn’t “count,” but to my daughter, it is as real as any in person meet and was exactly what she needed to have closure to what had been an amazing season. We don’t know when she’ll go back - her gym opened three weeks ago, but with numbers rising dramatically in our area, the risk isn’t worth it for us. Competitions are fun, and my daughter loves her sport and is extremely dedicated, but a healthy and alive daughter is way more important to us than medals in a coffin.

A search was on for the white woman who coughed on a baby because his mother was speaking Spanish in a yogurt shop.

Excerpt from article: Citing the unrelenting spread of the coronavirus, a federal judge has ordered that all children currently held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for more than 20 days must be released by July 17.

Last weekend, my dad (Grandpa) fell ill. We spent the week anxiously anticipating the results of his Coronavirus test while he quarantined in his bedroom. When the results came back negative, the grandchildren wanted to celebrate. So, my Mom (Grandma) promised them a fondue party. The fondue set in was a wedding gift for my parents, and they had only used it once in their 46 years of marriage (married 04/27/1976). The chocolate fondue was delicious, and the fondue set is yet another relic we've dusted off during this long shelter-in-place.

Trying to keep the family busy and happy during the shelter-in-place is a challenge. I unrolled a sheet of butcher paper on the kitchen table to occupy the kids one morning, and over the next few weeks, a mural emerged. All members of our family could be found sketching, painting, and coloring on the mural at random times until this beautiful mural was created.

Our family has been following strict a shelter-in-place since March 13. We have only left the house for contactless grocery pick up and have visited the gas station once. Other than that, we have been isolated. Today, we decided that it would do us all some good to get some fresh air. We left for a favorite nearby hike as soon as we woke up to beat the crowds. We encountered a total of 10 people but were successfully able to keep our distance of 6-10 feet. All but 2 people were masked on the trail. It baffles me as to why people still refuse to wear masks. Especially in this situation in which they could easily remove the mask once they passed other people. Overall, the hike was wonderfully and did us all a lot of good. I was really impressed by my children who had no problems masking independently throughout the hike.

I saw the slide while on a walk in the morning. My local playground had been shut down and taped up to prevent children playing. I wanted to photograph it to show how the pandemic had changed even basic activities like taking children to a playground.

Excerpt from article: Weekends used to have a rhythm that worked for Ezina LeBlanc, filled with adventures for her 19-month-old twins in Calabasas, California. “Every Saturday, we’d be off to the beach, hiking, a picnic, a museum, a theme park, or even up to Mammoth Lakes to ski,” she recalls.

A tweet from author Anne Thériault talking about the silver lining to the disruption to routine brought on by the pandemic. She and her son have been staying with her mother in Kingston instead of their home in Toronto.

A rare Inflammatory Syndrome presents in children with Covid-19.

This was the perspective of the coronavirus at the beginning from a younger unbiased person.

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. We've officially crossed over the 100 day mark! And still no hair cut for our son. We did venture out to a local toy store as we had officially ran out of puzzles. It was our first outing and we actually went into the toy store as a family. We all wore masks and did not touch anything during our time there. We were the only family in the store. It was definitely eerie but felt wonderful to be out and doing something normal. It also felt nice to support a local business owner that has undoubtedly struggled during this pandemic due to loss of business. We picked out two dinosaur puzzles. I'm certain we will be back for more puzzles soon.

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. Immediately after he finished his first ever 1000 piece puzzle, he asked to do another one! He took a much more active role in sorting the pieces for this puzzle. It is so fun to lose ourselves in puzzling. It takes our minds off of the gravity of the world in which we live. Just looking at this photo, it is hard to believe that we are living in the middle of a pandemic.

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. He is easily completing 300 piece puzzles on his own! It's quite the feat for a child his age.

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.

“Like everyone else, I was feeling a bit gloomy and today is actually the anniversary of my brother passing away, so I wanted to do something that would bring sunshine to people walking past. I’d like to see my friends and my god-children. And my family. It’s a month since I saw my mum - I don’t think I’ve ever not seen her for that long! I work in the events industry, so that was one of the first areas to get hit pretty hard. The simplicity of it all is something I’m discovering I like, yet never knew it… the slow breakfasts, extra time cuddling my son, not rushing everywhere. Ironically the team I’m in is closer than ever before, linking up from all around the world. That’s another unexpected. Life throws you curveballs every now and then. You just got to go with it” Instagram post on Nicole, events, and her experience during the pandemic, which was created by a psychology student living in Melbourne who was interested to hear about how COVID-19 was impacting on different peoples’ lives.

COVID-19 Black lives matter : June 1, 2020 The news of the riots and looting that have broken out at BLM protests is horrifying. There are so many supremacists, instigators and fame whores trying to remove the message that Black Lives Matter. There also seems to be a misunderstanding in the slogan. All lives should matter. They don't. Black lives matter, too. Despite the agitators, I was so pleased to hear that the Marches in Decatur and cities around were peaceful. Last night, I talked myself out of participating in a March out of fear of violence. The very violence I want to be standing against. I'm disappointed in myself. Age and illness have cost me some of my fearlessness. The Freedom Fighters traveled the segregated South, facing beatings and possible death. Such courage they had. I kept my phone away purposefully today. It seems every hour we have something and strange to react to. Space Launch! YAY!!! Riots! WTF!!?! Two hours later, more info is available that modifies the initial reaction. Then, by the evening, reactions change again after we're bombarded with opinions and news links from social media. We try to get our bearings and then we're confronted with something new and equally mindboggling. UFO's? Barely a mention. Conflicting opinions abound, with no consistency from our state and federal governments. It's hard not to long for the days when I trusted Walter Cronkite and thought the government was looking out for my best interests. Illinois Governor's Kerner and Walker shattered that pipe dream. Watergate ground the pieces into dust. It was another gorgeous day, today. Bright, sunny with a gentle wind. I kept the windows open and putzed around the yard. We found a new home for our old pool. It will have five playful kids enjoying it, rather than sitting in pile outside our shed. It can join it's Toy Story buddies and return to its life as a pool filled with children. I needed to be outside today. Away from humanity. I'm out on my sleeping swing, listening to wind. At times, it almost sounds waves rolling in. The moon is just bright enough that I watched Rocky Raccoon searching for grubs, not ten feet from me. I didn't disturb him. He slowly meandered across the yard. I think a Mama Deer may have a fawn stashed in the ditch across the road. I heard a huff and stomp. Maybe Rocky got too close. The stars are bright and fireflies are all over the place. The other night the grands were convinced they were falling stars. Nights like this, during times like this, I wonder why humans were given dominion of the earth. Then I remember I'm just a tiny grain of sand. A grain of sand that helps forge canyons. I'm grateful I can find peace and calm under Mother Nature's mantle.

Dear the upcoming future, Ever since COVID 19 hit, the world changed. From banning gatherings to social distancing, extended holidays and many people losing their lives to it every day, the world has descended into chaos. This virus started in December the 31st 2019 in Wu Han, China. They identified that the people were being infected by a new virus and they had no way to treat them, suddenly in January 11th China reported its first death. From then on, more and more cases started popping up in various countries and soon spread to Australia, as a twelve-year-old, seeing a deadly pandemic appear in my time was frightening. Schools began closing and soon the government was in panic. Students in high schools started adapting to a new way of learning called Remote Learning. Since it was my first year in high school, I haven’t adapted quite well, so it was difficult to me as we had to do large amounts of homework at home. COVID 19 had not just affected children but adults as well. Many people couldn’t work as their job involved them being there physically, this affected the economy in many countries and caused debt in many families. Though this wasn’t the only problems that occurred, another problem was that during this time protests started, involving Black Lives Matter and Pride Month. As the Coronavirus is easily passed, protests were a problem, many new cases were started because of people arriving overseas. During this time, scientists from around the world have been creating vaccines, but in 2020 the possibility of a vaccine being created is unlikely. I hope that by the time you read this a vaccine would be created.

“Lubin Walter Hunter, the oldest living member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation and oldest living male veteran in the Town of Southampton, according to a Southampton Village proclamation, turned 103 last week. In fact, Hunter may just be the eldest Native American veteran in New York, his family said. In the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, his family did not want to pass up the opportunity to celebrate his accomplished life and longevity, organizing a drive-by parade with his friends and community members. Hunter sat regally in a chair, draped with a blanket, at the end of his driveway, surrounded by his children and grandchildren — who wore masks and gloves to protect him from COVID-19. He stoically took in the well wishes one by one as the procession passed by.”

This executive order authorized the creation of emergency residential and emergency placement programs for children during the course of the COVID-19 emergency.

Signed by Governor Baker on March 18, 2020, this executive order sought to mitigate the virus's spread by closing all child care facilities in the state; a necessary step according to health officials, since COVID-19 easily spread from asymptomatic children to adults.

If you believe Stacy Peralta‘s documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, and of course you should — he’s one of the Lords of Dogtown for heaven’s sake, then you’ll know that pool skating originated here in Los Angeles during California’s drought in the late 70s. Some forty-odd years later and we’re in a drought of our own, a drought of socializing, of congregating, as humans across the southland and the world shelter at home to protect ourselves and the weakest among us from the novel coronavirus. But the empty pools and skateparks across Los Angeles, built for beginners, Olympic hopefuls and every skater in between, are being filled with sand and mulch so they don’t become deep, glossy-tiled petri dishes birthing a new surge of Covid-19 cases. There’s one problem. Just as no one could keep skateboarders out of backyard pools in the 70s long enough to keep a new sport from blossoming in a literal desert, a few tons of mulch or sand won’t help to board up skaters. That’s because essential services are still available. Big-box home improvement stores are open for business, stocked with antidotes to debris: shovels and shop vacs, push brooms and blowers. But of course we pool-riders are already equipped with such technology. So go ahead and fill that pool with mulch, dump and spread sand across the street courses. Skaters will eventually show up at odd hours to push and blow it out of the way. We’ll don our personal protective equipment, helmets, wrist guards, knee and elbow pads, and get in a quick session before you ever notice. We don’t even need to clear out the whole pool. A half, or even a quarter pool will do — like the quarter pipes we would hammer and scrap together at the bottom of our driveways in the 70s and 80s. We’d risk life and limb skating to the top of those rickety booby-traps pushing our wheels over the edge like we’d see Stacy and Tony Alva do in magazines (those things we’d use if we ran out of toilet paper). Skateboarders are creative, resilient, unrelenting. Ian McKaye of Minor Threat calls skateboarding “a way of learning how to redefine the world around you.” We see the world differently. Where you see an empty swimming pool, skateboarders see the form and shape and flow of concrete waves to ride. Where you see a curb and sidewalk, skateboarders see an edge to grind, a platform to manual, or wheelie, across. Where you see an empty corporate plaza, skateboarders see a playground of infinite lines to skate, slide and grind across. Where you see pools safely filled with sand, we see an opportunity to perform a ritual baked into our DNA, a ritual of clearing and cleansing. And in the emptiness we’ll skate new lines, try new tricks, push to new heights. As Craig Stecyk understood, according to Skip Englbom in Dogtown and Z-Boys, children took the ruins of the 20th century and made art out of it. And in the ruins of this pandemic there will only be more art. A lot of pool skaters aren’t children anymore. We’re the old guard, Generation X skaters with kids to care for at home, and parents to shop for so they don’t have to risk a Costco run. So we will keep a couple arms’-length apart as we sweep and skate, clear and carve. Because we can’t help ourselves. Our godfathers showed us how. Lance Mountain explains, “skateboarding doesn’t make you a skateboarder. Not being able to stop skateboarding makes you a skateboarder.” A crisis created skateboarding as we know it. No pandemic or sand-filled dump truck is about to stop its progress.

At the start of the Bay Area's shelter-in-place orders, there was a lot of uncertainty about the food supply chain. Given that we live with a couple of high-risk individuals, we wanted to ensure that we had access to fresh food without risking exposure to COVID-19. We quickly got to work and planted squash, tomato, pumpkin, peppers and pea plants. We involved our children from the beginning and have had a lot of fun gardening as a family as it has brought us comfort and has been incredibly therapeutic during these trying and uncertain times. Preparing Garden Soil: March 28, 2020. Plants Begin to Sprout: April 15, 2020. A Garden Grows in Danville: May 30, 2020.

Cousins, Claire Gagnon (1), Taylor Anderson (10), Jessie Anderson (6), Logan Gagnon (5), and Delaney Gagnon (8), have sheltered-in-place together since March 13, 2019. They have had incredible attitudes and have shown true resiliency in their abilities to process this new normal. After over 11 weeks of eating home cooked meals, the adults decided it was time for pizza delivery! The kids were ecstatic and exclaimed over and over, "This is the BEST meal of my life!" It was sweet to see them take such joy in something they likely took for granted before this experience.

The Golden Gate Bridge protest, that occured on June 6, 2020, was entirely organized and lead by two local East Bay youths. Tiana Day and Mimi Zoilia secured the permits that led to the first ever Black Lives Matter protest on the iconic San Francisco landmark. The outpouring of support for the pair has been strong. They have inspired youth across the San Francisco Bay Area to speak out for justice. Tiana's speech reveals the realities of growing up Black in what many consider to be an incredibly liberal region of the United States.

Amidst school closures across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, University of San Francisco doctoral students, Eghosa Obaizamomwan Hamilton and Gertrude Jenkins, founded and launched Making Us Matter Virtual High School in March 2020. While educational equity issues compounded as a result of nation-wide school closures, Hamilton and Jenkins built an educational platform in which a collective of Black educators would create challenging and empowering curriculum focused on social justice and Blackness. Making Us Matter is offered, free of charge, to any student interested in curriculum focused on Black-inclusion. While educational institutions have scrambled in their attempts to serve students during the COVID-19 pandemic, Making Us Matter is a shining example of how educational leaders can disrupt education and build learning experiences that challenge the shortcomings of traditional educational models.

Amidst school closures across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, University of San Francisco doctoral students, Eghosa Obaizamomwan Hamilton and Gertrude Jenkins, founded and launched Making Us Matter Virtual High School in March 2020. While educational equity issues compounded as a result of nation-wide school closures, Hamilton and Jenkins built an educational platform in which a collective of Black educators would create challenging and empowering curriculum focused on social justice and Blackness. Making Us Matter is offered, free of charge, to any student interested in curriculum focused on Black-inclusion. While educational institutions have scrambled in their attempts to serve students during the COVID-19 pandemic, Making Us Matter is a shining example of how educational leaders can disrupt education and build learning experiences that challenge the shortcomings of traditional educational models.

During the quarantine period, schools were closed and parents were thrown into new roles as teachers. Most parents didn’t even understand 4th grade math or how to deal with all of the curriculum thrown at them literally overnight. This meme deals with one aspect of school life—the school picture day which is a special day where photographers come in and everyone in the whole school has individual portraits done along with the group class photos. The humor here is that quarantine and home schooling was hard on everyone and so many of us were stressed and pushed to the max—including the kids. So by dressing up in his finest and announcing it was time to take the school photo, either the kid was very sweet and trying to recreate his past life, or he was cracking under the pressure—like his parents were on the brink of doing.

An public statement shared on Facebook by Kathleen Wynne and then by various childcare professionals and sympathetic parties. It was retrieved from the Facebook page of a Early Childhood Educator. Kathleen Wynne, a member of Provincial Parliament, former Premier of Ontario, and a former teacher, wrote this in response to action taken by Premier of the province of Ontario, Doug Ford and the Provincial Minister of Education, and Conservative government in the province, that they will reopen all childcare centres in Ontario effective Friday June 11, 2020 as part of their tiered 'reopening' of the province from Covid-19 restrictions. It is Ms. Wynne's opinion that centres are being provided with insufficient time and resources to do so safely for staff and children.

A child's coloring book page depicting an ambulance and other essential workers hangs on a door in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans.

"Radio stations can be a voice to call for a calm and unified community prevention strategy. Community radio stations have opportunities to also promote and defend human rights as many governments are abusing their power during the pandemic. Another example included is how radio stations can become educators and serve as a space for community teachers trying to reach children that do not have access to the internet and cannot attend online schooling."

This is the first episode of the Boston Children's Museum's podcast Big & Little. "Boston Children's Museum CEO and President, Carole Charnow, talks with Dr. Michael Yogman, a practicing pediatrician in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about the many challenges the Coronavirus presents for parents, families, and children."

This is the second episode of the Boston Children's Museum's podcast, Big & Little, podcast for adults about kids and families. In this episode, BCM CEO "Carole [Chernow] chats with psychologist Dr. Nancy Rappaport about the challenges the pandemic presents for parents and children. Dr. Rappaport, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard University Medical School, sheds light on some of the positive effects families can take away from this historic time."

Boston Children's Museum's announcement about closing due to COVID-19.

Right now there is so much uncertainty with opening schools this Fall. One of the concerns is if teachers and students should be wearing masks or not. My sons school says they will not require masks for students. I am a teacher and the district I work for is saying all students and teachers must wear a mask. Teachers may wear a face-shield so that students can see our face and expressions. I started looking around for places that sell masks. A lot of them are overpriced so my plan is to sew myself a few for next year. I work with low-income students so I highly doubt they will be able to afford some. The California Teachers Association has sent out info-graphics including this one. It describes the distance a droplet can travel. Most classrooms are very small and it would be impossible for a teacher to avoid being within 6 feet of a student. With so much uncertainty right now it is difficult to know where we are all going to be in the Fall and what our education system will look like.

I'm a nursing student living at home on the family farm and I'm struggling to get a job. I've been sporadically journalling throughout the pandemic. This entry looks at what my day looked like an some thoughts about the current situation.

This is a photograph of a sign in the window of the Boston Public Library. The sign asks parents to read to their children because the library will be closed due to Covid-19. This sign illustrates both how vital the BPL is to may children in Boston as well as how many parents were required to take over the role of providing reading material following closures of schools and libraries.

These images of graduates from Hobbton Highschool were hung on display around town for everyone to celebrate their accomplishment, together.

This photograph shows how teachers at L.C. Kerr Elementary School have been able to communicate with their students even while schools have been out of session

Using the #PPE hashtag, I discovered this story from the AFYA Foundation about how the Metro Doula Group in New York is creating birthing kits from donated #PPE for regional families.

News article discussing a program providing seeds and gardening supplies to school children to provide fresh produce at home during quarantine, especially for those in underprivileged circumstances, and to allow for online group lessons on subjects such as horticulture, cooking, ecology. A particular and amusing challenge they are learning to face is the healthy local squirrel population eating their crops!

June 5, 2020 marked our 10 year wedding anniversary. Due to the uncertainty of things, we had no plans to celebrate. Literally none. Our extended family, however, could not let this moment go uncelebrated. We live on the same property as my mother and father-in-law, as well as my sister-in-law and her 3 girls. They decided to surprise us with a dinner for two at "Cafe de Gagnon." They sent us an invitation asking us to dress our best and to knock on the door of my in-laws promptly at 5:30 p.m. Upon arrival, our 3 children greeted us, dressed to the nines, with warm smiles. They proceeded to serve us a multiple course dinner, prepared by my father-in-law. While it wasn't what we had imagined for our 10-year wedding anniversary, it was absolutely perfect. And a great reminder that true joy is possible during these challenging times.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, so much has changed for our children. They have faced school closures, altered family dynamics, the loss of extracurricular activities and nationwide protests. The reality of this new unprecedented world is impacting how children are playing. This photograph was shared with me by a friend who was observing her daughter quietly playing in their backyard a couple of months into our region’s shelter-in-place orders (May 29, 2020). She went over to check on her daughter and noticed that she had placed a mask on her Barbie. The mom sent me the photo along with a text that read "Cute and clever but heartbreaking at the same time." This simple photograph shows how much our children are absorbing and adapting as they navigate life during a pandemic. Shelter-in-place orders in the San Francisco Bay Area have been more strict than in other areas in the state and throughout the country. Will children in this region be impacted in ways that other children will not?

I included this video because in my own time practicing social distancing and social isolation, I noticed that my days and nights became dominated by two distinctive scenes, which is a rather harsh contrast to the variety of settings available to me normally. The first being the windows to freedom I had driving in the car to and from the grocery store, or occasionally to go through the drive through. The second is my home, or more specifically the bedroom from within which I have to sleep, study, eat and entertain myself. Whilst I had access to several peripheral liminal zones between these two, such as the balcony outside my bedroom and my local walking track when walking my dog. The neon lights and empty spaces of the outside world through the car window, or through the layer of social distancing in the grocery store exemplify so much of the feeling I have experienced in isolation. I can’t quite pin down this feeling with a pithy phrase yet, but I found that the physical confinement to settings which became routine was so much more traumatising than the lack of social connection which was for me almost an over surplus rather than a lack as I am constantly surrounded by family with both my mother, brother and occasionally cousin being confined to a small cottage house. I feel like the whole world became this strange liminal space in which daily communal expectations were suspended without being overturned with new expectations, I never really got the sense of ‘the new normal’ that others have mentioned.

Youth and children played an integral role in the protests that occurred in the San Francisco Bay Area in the aftermath of George Floyd's death. They showed courage and strength as they peacefully protested and advocated for change. Our children deserve to grow up in communities where they feel safe and accepted for the beautiful individuals that they are.