Dispatch: Passing the Time

by Kara Thompson ’20

It’s been a little over a week since schools were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, and things have been strange. The beginning of my week was filled with lots of babysitting, as many parents scrambled for childcare alternatives. While that wouldn’t really fall under the branch of “social distancing,” it was a necessary evil. Eventually, parents shifted to working from home, which is both good and bad. Gives people more time to recover, or go stir-crazy.

There has been a lot of sitting around. Before the libraries closed, my dad and I went and got armfuls of books and dvds to pass the time. The TV is nearly always on, though a lot of it is the news, as my parents wait for updates. When not being lazy, me, along with nearly everyone else, is outside. I’ve seen more of my neighbors out walking this week than I have in the past few years combined. Somehow, being outside and not trapped indoors with others is still “social distancing.” I’ve gone on a few walks with my friends, one where we walked on opposite sides of the road and shouted to each other (to appease our mothers). 

Above all else, I’m just hoping and praying that this doesn’t turn out any worse, like it has in many other countries. I wish for everyone to be safe and smart so the world can return to normal and quickly as possible.