Corona Changes

In March, the rumors of the COVID-19 virus became reality, and the Netherlands went into partial lockdown. Over the rest of the year, the lockdowns lightened and tightened in turn, but changes were visible everywhere. 

Not all the changes were bad. We saw encouraging signs everywhere, like the Feyenoord themed "You'll never walk alone" one hung outside the hospital. 

                                     

A sign in the window of a closed school read, "Lieve kinderen we missen jullie" - dear children, we miss you." 

                                        

Church services and messages were held online, and while it was certainly practical, we missed the community of being able to share faith and everyday life with friends instead of staring at a screen. 

The holidays took extra effort, since we couldn't meet up for a meal with friends or family. Instead we made Easter baskets with mini chocolate eggs to drop in mailboxes. The children's activities at church were all online or sent in the mail.

My Bible study group and I watched the Passion performance online, at home, separately, instead of being able to watch it together and meet up like usual.

Everyday life became more complicated. Grocery order slots filled up fast, stores ran out of basic food staples at times. 

Limited shoppers were allowed in stores, and tape on the floor marked the 1.5m distance between shoppers at the checkout line. 

A simple order pickup at Ikea turned into a 30+ minute wait, and the atmosphere in the parking garage was all but eerie. 

Our favorite (and only) indoor playground shut. Like the library. Like the church. Which meant for most of the year our choice was outside playing, or playing at home. And since we live in Holland, we couldn't count on the weather to be any more predictable than the Corona virus. 

People tried to make the experience less hard for children. "Going on a bear hunt" became a new rage, and children (and their) parents going crazy while isolated at home could take neighborhood walks and look for stuffed bears that popped up all over town.

With no playdates, library visits, Sunday School at church, or sport classes, the kids and I explored farther than usual and found some new fun playgrounds. 

The lockdowns lightened long enough for a summer vacation kickoff for the kids at church. It was a blast for the kids, and almost equally fun for parents who came to the pick-up and drop-off and got to see each other for the first time in months. 

Messages for overworked healthcare professionals popped up around town, from the costume store ("Our heroes in healthcare") to hundreds of bouquets of flowers delivered to the hospital. 

                                          

               We stayed in touch with little friends, with family, and with people we cared about online. My mothers' group exchanged a blizzard of messages about how to keep kids busy and happy while dealing with working from home and handling housework and cooking too. 

               As soon as we stepped out of the house, signs everywhere told us what to do and how to do it. 

At least some signs were humorous.  This bottle of disinfectant at the building supply store read "Voor mandjes geen handjes" - for baskets, not for hands.

One last sign. "It will get better again."