Just FYI I hate this image now. It is the image that represents COVID-19 and is ubiquitous on the news feeds right now. What a ridiculous picture to represent such a tragedy in the world.
The week of March 15 started off normally. Well, kind of normal. It was our first Sunday of staying home from church meetings due to the Corona Virus and that was unusual (if not a little fun [don't tell anyone at church I said that]). You know the whole ordeal of traveling to Denver and back when the wrestling tournament was cancelled so we were all reeling from that a little and trying to grasp COVID-19 and the consequences it would have on us. We spoke with Jordan that evening and found out that he had been made a trainer in his mission and had received a new companion, obviously, and been transferred to a new area in the mission. On the chat that night he asked me if I thought they, the Americans, would be sent home from the mission. "No" I replied, "don't even worry about it." Then we continued on with the normal conversation about his area and how he was doing and what he was enjoying about the mission.
We went to work Monday morning and had some cancellations due to COVID-19 which we expected to be quite frank. The day proceeded normally though, well almost normally. One of our temp hygienists had to call us and tell us she wouldn't be able to work for us until Kim came back anymore because she was pregnant and her doctor said with COVID-19 it was an unsafe environment for her to work from. Also, I did get news that California had closed all Dental offices excepting emergencies only. At the end of the night we listened with avid interest to the news feed wondering if Colorado would follow California's lead. That night, no news and no news is good news.
Since Jordan is on the mission I occasionally check facebook. Well, I check facebook a lot because that is how his mission president communicates with us. Well, that is how his mission president's wife communicates with us. Tuesday morning, I did my usual and checked the Tacloban Phillipines facebook page and found the following communication:
What? Jordan was returning? And in three days? Would he return to Salt Lake, to our home, where? Would I have to pick him up? Is he really safe? 72 hours is a short time to get all foreign missionaries out (there were over 1500 foreign missionaries serving in the Phillipines). How does Jordan feel about this? Will I get to talk with him soon? These are the thoughts that were swirling through my head. Needless to say I lacked focus at work and was glad that we had Spring Break for the remainder of the week freeing me up to go and get him if necessary.
As I got to work I was barraged with the ADA's announcement STRONGLY encouraging all dental offices to close except emergencies and the unknown of what to do with our practice. Like I said, we were already planning on closing the practice for the remainder of the week, so at least I had time to think about things, consult with insurances, HR, etc....
I steadily watched facebook and google chat for any notification about Jordan. The next follow up message was the following from the mission president's wife:
Okay. So he is safe. He didn't have to get out by the 72 hours and we just wait until Saturday (Friday our time) to see if they actually get out. I was relieved that they had a plan. However, on another sight I read that some missionaries trying to get into Cebu were turned away at quarantine lines. I put 2 and 2 together and realized that my missionary might be put in the same situation when they tried to leave Tacloban for Cebu and my mind went crazy again. I asked the mission president's wife if they might be having the same difficulty and she responded with the following:
No real advancement on anything the remainder of the day. Wednesday, the 18th was still pretty slow for us. Me looking for updates on facebook about Jordan and watching the news. I still didn't see anything. I did get to speak(type) with Jordan on Google messenger though for five minutes. He didn't really know much more than we did about when they would be leaving the country. That day to take our mind of of things we built a large snowman. At least I think it was Wednesday that we did this. Last week really is blurring all together in my mind.
Come to think of it, I think this was Thursday. I think Brad took the boys out back country skiing or snowmobiling or motorcycling on Wednesday.
Needless to say I couldn't sleep and need some humor in my life. I found a meme I thought was hilarious.
It's hilarious I know. Mostly because I am a Scooby Doo fan. And really I was a little bit worried about running out of toilet paper. So much so that I did buy biobidets for our family. One for each person.
Also, I got a new record on my rower.
And I finished an excellent book. Actually I finished it way before this but this is a good opportunity to promote it. Really, it is an EXCELLENT reading choice.
Thursday morning we decided to close the office due to the ADA's STRONG recommendation. We had to call our employees and notify them of the closure and advise them to sign up for unemployment. That was fun. It turns out it was a good choice though because later that evening the Governor of Colorado came out with this:
And yes, the ADA was kind enough to describe what constitutes a dental emergency.
Yes, our hands are a little tied at work. So to pass the time we had a birthday in there for Ben...
It was probably the worst birthday ever, but Ben had a good attitude. Such a good kid.
Also, we searched for Memes about Kylo Ren...okay Kenzie did she's obsessed.
I looked for Memes like this:
because hair stylists are closed down too.
And memes like this:
because it does feel like socialism when you are ordered to shut down.
Riley took a great selfie of me and him.
He's pretty talented.
And we got a picture of Jordan...nothing else until Saturday.
We were notified on Saturday that they had a miracle happen. The missionaries were able to fly to Manila from Tacloban and did not have to pass through quarantine lines. The Elders did arrive in Salt Lake as planned Sunday evening.
Anyway, a lot of tough decisions to make throughout the week and a lot of worry. Jordan still wasn't home but was at least in Salt Lake.
Just FYI Brad wants me to post awesome pictures of back country skiing but I don't have any of the pictures so the boys are going to have to do that themselves.
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