Life right now is a little crazy. This COVID-19 pandemic is something that no one saw coming.
Like the lyrics from a Hamilton song, we have seen our “World Turned Upside Down.” Nearly everything that we know, that is familiar to us has stopped and/or closed.
This has been especially surreal here in Vegas. This city runs on tourism and entertainment and those things are gone now. As someone who has worked in the casino industry for nearly a decade, I can tell you that these times are completely unprecedented.
I remember the first time that Nick and I heard about Coronavirus; we were watching the news before bed (like we do nearly every night) and there the newscasters were discussing a virus spreading in China. Honestly, we didn’t think that it was anything that we would ever have to worry about.
But as the days and weeks passed it grew and grew until suddenly it was like we were living in a completely different world.
If you had told me in January that not one but that every casino in Las Vegas would be closed come the end of March, I would have said that you were crazy, that it would never happen. Boy was I wrong.
Not only are the casinos closed but so is nearly every other business. We are no longer allowed to physically attend church, parks, and golf courses are closed, Lake Mead is closed and our Governor is encouraging and now mandating that everyone “Stay Home For Nevada.”
And worst of all, thousands of Nevadans have lost their lives and hundreds of thousands more have lost their jobs.
I hope and pray that this will all be over soon and that nothing like this will ever happen again. But while we are living in these unprecedented times, I want to document what is happening in our city, across our country, and in our daily lives.
Nick recently said that life right now is like the movie Groundhog Day. We are living the same day over and over again. There’s no more Monday through Friday for us, no real distinction between weekday and weekend.
I do have to point out that Nick and I have been extremely blessed in the fact that not only are we both able to work from home but more importantly we both still have our jobs.
With that being said I am now going on Week 5 basically working from home (I have had to go into the office a few times but have mostly been at home) and Nick is on Week 4. At this point, we don’t know how many more weeks there will be.
Nick works for a medical insurance company and is therefore considered an essential employee. Luckily for us, his work can be done with a laptop and phone so his whole team can work from the safety of their homes.
He is currently working from our dining room table from 5:30 am to 2 pm. As for myself, according to the government I work for a casino which is considered non-essential and therefore closed. But I work in Human Resources which within our company is considered essential.
At this point, we are immeasurably blessed that my company is still paying its Team Members and I work in Benefits which is needed now more than ever. So not only am I still getting paid but there is still actual work for me to do.
We have spent the last month establishing our new routine. Nick gets up early enough to brush his teeth etc. in the morning before being at his laptop at 5:30 am. I get up shortly after and make us coffee and tea before heading to my laptop to check emails and voicemails. I usually do what work I can for 2-3 hours before spending the rest of my day cleaning, reading, writing, cooking our meals and anything else I can do to keep myself entertained.
We try to make a point to take walks most days and get out of the house.
We miss being out in the world. We miss getting to go to the movies, to eat out at a restaurant, to the mall, and especially to church.
But we also miss seeing our families. Nick’s mom lives with and cares for her mother who is in her 90s so we haven’t been able to see them in more than a month and I have tried to stay away from my family members recently because I have had to go on property and into the office and want to be sure that I am keeping them all safe.
We currently have a Disney Land and Sea trip planned for August and are supposed to be cruising with 11 other family members. We don’t know if that will be happening or not. There are so many variables that could affect this. Will this all be over by then? Will the cruise be canceled and will the parks be open? Will it be safe to travel? Will all of our family members still be able to go?
There’s just no way to know right now. I know that there are so many more important things but we have been planning and saving for this trip for a year and would love to be able to see and spend time with some of our east coast people.
There are so many things to think about and consider in our new normal. Nick has a transplanted kidney and is on immunosuppressant medication which means he has a compromised immune system and I have asthma which easily leads to bronchitis and pneumonia.
Any time we leave the house and return we immediately take off our shoes, wash our hands and change our clothes. I am constantly wiping down our doorknobs, light switches and anything else that gets touched frequently. We are washing our sheets more frequently and avoid touching anything when we do leave the house.
I am an introvert and usually enjoy being at home. I don’t mind sitting on the couch reading, binge-watching Disney +, or YouTube videos all day. Before all of this happened, I would have loved to have a whole day at home doing the quiet relaxing things that I enjoy. But even I am going stir crazy after 5 weeks.
Nick, on the other hand, does not enjoy being stuck at home and is having a tougher time of it.
We frequently discuss what we will do once this is all over. We have a list of places we want to eat and the things we want to do.
But for now, we will keep doing what we’re doing and “Stay Home For Nevada.” It is so frustrating to see people on social media with their conspiracy theories, and sharing of every fake news story and article, still out doing things, having people over their houses.
It is just selfish and inconsiderate. There are thousands of people; healthcare workers, janitors, bus drivers, police officers, firemen, etc. who are sacrificing their own health and the health of their families in order to continue to serve the public. All we have to do is stay at home.
Not only that but how stupid and ashamed are you going to feel if someone in your family gets sick because you couldn’t follow instructions and take this seriously.
Unfortunately, this is like most things. People always think “it won’t happen to me” until it does.
Don’t be that person.
This is a historical time in our world, one I hope we will never see again. But in the meantime, I hope you and yours stay happy, healthy and safe.