No, but I wish they were!

I didn't read other replies before replying - but I mean, those people didn't have reliable... anything! No air conditioning! No giant spa tubs to soak in at night. No gym memberships. No microwave. No fast food. No "instant" anything! Families had one (or zero) cars. Kids generally went to school and to church - otherwise, they played outside with the neighbor kids, whoever they were. Little pain control for everyday pains. Women had few options for birth control and, shoot, menstruation was still a major PITA. So, when things went to shit... well... it was just more episode of "hard" life dealt to them. I think bad-time things sucked less because everyday things already sucked so much! We (speaking of most Americans) are soft and squishy. Mere inconvenience sort of stumps my kids because they're just so accustomed to automatic and easy! I don't think it equate that we are "lazier" but we do work differently than generations past.

Yes to this!

We will probably use ours to pay on dd's college debt. If the online estimate I did was correct... it will pay off half what she owes.

I've cut out about 25 of these headbands to sew tonight and will drop them off alongside the traditional surgical-style masks we've made. We've also made some of the more form-fitting mask style, which are (imho) nicer, but take longer to make. We opted to not use the wires on any of them as it was a PITA to use and most of the places we're dropping off at seem to be using them over their n95 masks.

Me - only to pick up groceries or other necessities at WalMart pick-up service or Target drive-up service DH - working from home most days. Other days, he goes in... but his job is one where he is able to work in empty buildings with no one around him while he works on computer stuff inside. His job has moved all meetings, etc to online and/or phone meetings, so dh only has to go by the office once in a while to pick up supplies. Kids - Most have been home for a solid two+ weeks. They went out to try to find a park to walk around last week, but said the parks were too busy. So, lots of treadmill time, Dance video games, and biking. My parents - home, thank goodness In-Laws - Living life as normal, mostly - except for wiping things down with Clorox wipes. I think we all need to pile in a car tomorrow and go drive somewhere with a nice view, now that I'm thinking about it.

OMg this is EXACTLY it. Only FOUR WEEKS since everything went to h377 in a hand basket!. My college senior had JUST made some major changes after years of struggle that seemed to clear the path before her. She was elated and finally felt on top of things. Now she's home and has no idea whatsoever what to do. Or even if she'll see half her friends ever again after the hasty departure from campus. 😕she is spinning, spinning. Breaks my heart. To see her so from such a hard-earned high spot to ... this ... nothingness. 😕 She's not depressed - just ... unable to see the future and listless. second kid is wondering if her freshman year will be online and lonely. third kid is trying to sort out how we're going to sort auditions and scholarships if they give less weight to ACT scores... Everything is so vastly different for all the kids - and every other human on the planet - right now. It's just so much to grasp hold of!!!

DDs college finally made the call yesterday evening. No word on the deadline to get her stuff. Some of her friends are at the dorms still, so will most likely try and pay one of them to pack up her stuff and either put it in storage or take it to their house (they live closer to us than the university itself).

About the rest of the semester? i just realized that I had assumed dds school was remaining off-campus the rest of the semester, but dd confirmed today that they haven't said anything either way. Every other university I am connected with online - and every other university any of my kids' friends attend - have decided to remain off-campus the remainder of the semester. Is dd's the only weird one? (her professors seem to be planning on staying online all semester. I am certainly not sending her back anytime soon!!)

OMGosh YES!!!!!!! And all 3 kids together 24/7. Which is mostly lovely. But. All. Three. Kids. Together. Not for a busy, 3-month long summer, as planned, but now for 5.5 MONTHS. 😶 With no jobs to go to. No classes. No lessons. No dates. No friends. No nothing. Their lives are stalled out right when they're beginning! They're understandably frustrated!! I'm hoping this won't do long term damage to their relationships, to be honest. Five adults, all set in their ways, (well, four + 1 almost-adult) in one house is asking a lot of us, Lord. Thank good everyone has their own bedroom. Well... except for me... 🤔🙄 Fun times. I've taken to taking daily naps just so my brain can re-set. 😅

At this point, never. I didn't love being out in public al that much to begin with. Give me my cozy house and the people I most love, and I'm good. Combine that with Returning anxiety that I had beaten back... and I don't want to let anyone out of my sight ever again. Luckily, my kids are old. Two are already legal adults and the third will follow this year. So, they'll go when they feel ready & they will be respectful of their poor, stressed mother to be gentle about it. I will peep my head out only when I have to for a while. This has pushed me back to my old, recluse ways and now without small, extroverted children to pull me out of my shell, I have no reason to fight it!

I haven't seen any real way to help. Their situation is wholly different from mine.

And I'm just starting to relax! lol! Of course, we're just in the 2nd week here at our house. And those first 10 days were just intense - all the adjustments, cancellations, preparations, etc. Now I've officially given up on my plans to "reorganize the entire house and our lives" and have contentedly settled on just maintaining and taking time out to enjoy life a little bit more than we normally have time for. I'm the only true introvert in the house though AND I've been the one leaving to pick up groceries, so I've actually been OUT of the house more than the kids. Everyone else is starting to show signs of strain. DH, who works from home most of the time, but still goes out a few days a week to certain areas, is about to lose his mind. 🤪 The stress (which is honestly not caused by the virus itself, but by the fact that it's causing my latent anxiety to rear its ugly head once again) combined with his super-extroverted lifestyle is taking its toll on the poor guy. 💛

Oh, everything has changed. Music and sports have stopped. It's devastating to kids who are usually super busy and engaged! I gave my kids a week to grieve and mope around a little. Then we had a ceremony, of sorts... I had them write out the things they had been looking forward to or were hoping for. They shared some of them with all of us, saved the personal things for themselves... and then we lit a fire! Let it all go up in smoke! Then, they made new post-corona-quarantine lists. They posted those up in their rooms to remind them that there are still amazing things ahead sports-wise, ds's team is doing some amazing online things: challenges and workouts. Kids are posting videos and coaches are cheering them on. It's nice - but so not the same. As for music, my kids have essentially abandoned any of the old pieces they were working on for specific events that aren't gonna happen and are looking ahead to future events that will hopefully still happen. So lots of practice still going on. Online lessons as needed. Many of their friends and groups are meeting online. They are setting up online concerts and get-together and weird rehearsals. It's nice - but so not the same. Grateful for the technology that, at least, has them remaining connected. But very much looking forward to normal!!

Communication. DD1s school has been negligently bad about sending out appropriate notifications. Confusion runs rampant. Students still on campus. Access to food available, then shut down, then available but only in specific areas... but ZERO emails or notifications of any of this. The RAs abandoned ship (understandably) and the students left on campus have broken in to certain areas to get access to the gym, the pool, food, etc. Truly mind-boggling. We are convinced they don't want to "force" students off campus because they will then have to refund $$. Utter chaos. DD2s school-next-year has been outstanding. Calm, well-thought-out emails and Facebook notices. Reasonable expectations regarding dorm / move-out situation. They put out financial refund information over a week ago to let the students who had room/board know what will happen with that. Many emails direct from the President or the Dean of the Department. Truly outstanding.

luckily, DDs coordinator emailed the scholarship recipients today and assured them that their offers were still good - but that the paperwork was just talking longer than previously expected. Understandably. Relief.

waaait, what? I thought the whole thing (including filing) was delayed. Once again, their information is clear as mud. 😫

Pre-COVID nightmare, the kids were offered various scholarships - but, my kid at least, hadn't yet signed on the dotted line (she was actually still awaiting paperwork). Do we think there are chances scholarships could be rescinded for incoming freshmen? I mean, I'm assuming it's doubtful, but I sure have plenty of time to fret over it! 🙄

I can't even process the fallout. My oldest got a math degree and should still be able to find work, somewhere. She will probably put off graduate degree until things are stable, which makes me sad. second kid is getting a music degree with a full ride opportunity. But this has made her dig out the CLEP books and is calculating possible minors and/or double majors. I most worry about the last kid. He is full-on music-only degree. We are supposed to be doing auditions in 6-10 months. I'm terrified for him. It was not missed by any of us that the arts were hit hardest and most immediate. And with schools talking of not needing test scores for incoming freshmen, I'm not sure what that will mean for scholarships? *sigh* So overwhelming. So much.

This thread is oddly comforting. I've been wondering... where are all the stories? I want to hear from people themselves who have had this and it was "no big deal," or even those who had it and it was awful. I want to know which symptoms started first. How fast did it hit you? Was it slow and steady or like a hammer? How many days? Were you KO'ed in bed, or moving around okay? So many questions!! I thrive on BTDT information and the lack thereof is making this all even worse than it already! I would even feel a million times better if those who *thought* they'd had it could have had a frigging TEST available to know for sure!

This is so utterly depressing.

For now, we're getting the house clean - digging through closets that have needed a good dig-through for years. We are playing games and getting to do things we haven't had time for for a long, long while. That part is nice. I love our family and it's nice to be together with so much time to spend. The rest of it sucks. I can't fathom the number of people who will get ill from this. I worry about my parents. I worry about the in-laws. I worry about my kids. Yes, they're young - but let's just say that they inherited my puny respiratory system and it's allergy season right now so they're already sort of maxed out. I have mentally blocked off all the things that have been canceled because my brain just cannot compute this much disappointment on top of all the worry. It's too much, it's too big.

I have seen this about the bus. Isn't it possible that the woman coughed as she walked up the aisle of the bus? Meaning, it didn't transfer 4.5 meters, but only a short distance each time she might have coughed or heavy-breathed past those passengers? The one exposed 30 minutes after was sitting in her general area. It confuses me because SO MANY passengers weren't infected at all! Especially odd that the people directly next to, and in front of her, were not affected. Argh! So many possibilities with this thing! So many ways for it to go wrong!

I read conflicting information. Once you've been officially diagnosed with this monster and fully recover with negative tests afterward.... Are you then immune? Like a super hero, can you then live without worry of the plague of 2020 (except, of course, of bringing it home, but let's assume the whole family has it and is okay in the end). Just trying to find one silver lining somewhere today...

it is heartbreaking 😞 I am SO GLAD DD is home. Her school has handled this horribly and I was just so relieved to see her sweet face today. We've set her up in her room and gave her a mask to wear when she comes out to the bathroom next to her room. We are cleaning like lunatics. We decided on a 5-more-days quarantine. She drove home, which took 3 days. Gonna count those are quarantine time because she only stopped for bathroom breaks and gas and used a digital key/check in at the hotel. She packed her own food to eat. Two weeks would feel inhumane for someone with no symptoms, but I think we can manage 5 more days. Her best friend started having coldlike symptoms the day dd left. Now, it's allergy season and this girl gets like this every spring. So it could be just... that. So. We wait. She's in good spirits, busily sorting through her room and reorganizing for the long haul. We were planning to buy her a new bed and furniture to surprise her when she came home after graduation! 😔 So many plans out the window. I know they're minor in the great scheme of the world, but it's just so much disappointment all at once. Hoping for everyone's safety and good health above all. 💛 Welcome to the Twilight Zone!