The Day the World Shut Down

March 13, 2020 is a day I’ll never forget. I woke up to an ongoing debate in a big group chat of friends. School had just been cancelled for three weeks due to Coronavirus. Some were panicking, others were claiming that the lockdown should be taken more seriously, while still more believed that the virus was not as severe as the government was portraying it. Prom would be cancelled, sports would be suspended, and classes would be shut down indefinitely. I then checked a text from my friend, Michael, who was overjoyed that he wouldn’t have to go to school for three weeks. There was so much uncertainty and arguing that no one could determine what was true. There was only one thing for certain: everything was cancelled, and we would all be forced to stay home for a while.

            Of course, I was homeschooled, so it wouldn’t seem to be such a drastic change for my family. However, the reality set in when I realized that soccer, theatre, church, and all forms of personal interaction would be cancelled until the lockdown was over. At first, the adjustment was awkward. My dad’s job as a hydroelectric engineer was deemed essential, along with my brother, Jake, who was working as an FSA. Meanwhile, my mom and sister, Emmalyn, were forced to stay home with Luke and I. School remained consistent, as the majority of my classes were already online. But the house was louder. We were all adjusting to the lockdown, realizing that we were stuck with only each other.

            One consistency I still had was walking Dave. Dave was our fat Jack Russell, who would sleep almost the entire day away. The only two words that would get him hyper were “food” and “walk”. He would typically run over to my desk in the afternoon and wait for me to finish my homework, so I could walk him. But then everything changed.

            “Are you walking Dave?” Emmalyn asked.

            I looked down at the leash in my hand, then at my other hand on the doorknob, then at Dave prancing in circles before answering. “Yeah.”

            “Can I come?” she then asked.

            “Sure,” I answered, surprised. Emmalyn walked over to grab her shoes, while Dave bounced around desperately waiting to sprint outside.

            The walk started like every other walk. Dave bolted to the mailbox and proceeded to smell every blade of grass afterwards. The streets were completely silent, with not a single car driving past us. Sometimes on walks, I would listen to music, call my grandparents, or just be alone in my thoughts. Now I wasn’t alone. Short conversation sparked up and then quickly died out. We both had a lot to think about. The next day, she joined me again. And again. Soon, Luke and my mom joined, and we would wait for Jake and my dad to get back from work to walk with us.

Something as simple as a walk reminded us of the importance of closeness. In a few short months Emmalyn would be graduating college, Jake would continue working to become a fireman, and I would be entering my senior year in high school. This lockdown forced us to stay together and enjoy each other’s company while we still had it, although my family took some time getting used to Dave’s sauntering pace. Walks were promoted to nature trails and, eventually, hikes. Along with walks, we were able to have more family dinners, movie nights, and even game nights. We were one family, and the rest of the world could not distract us from that.

One night, we discovered that a few Broadway shows were available to watch online during the lockdown. They would be showing “Phantom of the Opera”, one of my parents’ favorite shows. I never even knew they liked theatre until then. They told us about all the shows they used to watch and their favorite songs from musicals. During intermission, my dad suggested we grab ice cream for the second act. No one was going to disagree with that. We piled into the car and headed to the store.

“Oh,” my dad said suddenly. “I forgot a mask.” No one spoke. We had all forgotten. Hoping the store would have masks available, we entered cautiously.

“Excuse me,” my dad began when he found an employee. “We forgot our masks; would you guys have any we could borrow?”

“We do not,” the employee replied tersely. He then explained that we were not welcome in the store without masks, threatening the police and a hefty fine if we stayed longer. We drove in silence on the way back. We had been having so much fun together that we forgot what was happening in the world around us. We forgot about the state of concern throughout the nation, the disunity between people, and the confusion surrounding the pandemic.

But there was a light in this dark time. My family and I were able to spend time together before it was too late. Before we returned to our separate lives and had to attempt working around each other’s schedules. The world was in fear, but we still had each other to comfort and care for.