The beginning of the pandemic

On Friday February 21st 2020 we left school for the weekend unaware that life would be so much different on Monday morning. My friend, a Kindergarten teacher, later told me that that particular Friday was the "Hundredth day of Kindergarten", Each year she reminds the children it is a celebration of their learning but it is not the end of the year and they will return the next school day and continue getting smarter. That year the Kinders did not return to class as their teacher had predicted. None of the students did. The schools here in Italy were the first US school to go virtual because of Covid. Those Kinders did continue to grow smarter through the love, resilience and determination of the teachers and their parents, but they did not return to the school until they were first graders. Overnight our lives changed.

At first it was the schools, they went virtual, museums and gyms closed, Italy closed its borders to other countries. But for a while there was an uneasy period, which felt as though it could go either way. The threat of a complete shutdown was looming in the background ready to take center stage, but still we had hope that this would pass ? Maybe fizzle out as people were more careful. At this time we could still travel. On the 29th February we traveled west to Sirmione, Lake Garda. It was eerily quiet. The museums were closed, spas and hotels closed. Restaurants were open but empty as all the tourists had left. Unknown to me, this was really the first of the most privileged tourist excursions. We were witnessing one of my favorite places in Italy, when so many others could not. I had the privilege of an exclusive showing of a beautiful area many people wait a lifetime to see. A canvas, free from people, like a neglected window after it has been cleaned made it clear to see even more history, beauty and charm than before.

This was the last trip we would take for a long time and the last without a mask in hand even up until the date of publishing this blog when we are still wearing them.

Italy was the first country after China to impose restrictions. We had all heard about what was happening in China and we were apprehensive this would happen to us. On March 8th, our fears were confirmed, our home in the Padova post code was one of the regions no longer permitted to travel outside of our homes.

Masks became compulsory even though hard to come by.  We were not allowed to walk or exercise outside of our houses, only a short walk with your dog 200 meters from your house. We didn't have a dog, so this left us inside our gates. Within a few days the local district sent masks, they were primitive and came with a strict message Restoacasa - remain at home, but at least allowed everyone to enter a shop. March 11th non essential commercial and retail businesses were closed and the 21st March you could no longer travel to your workplace unless you were considered essential. All businesses and industries came to a holt. 

Many Italians live with their elderly family members. The threat of bringing the virus home to their loved ones is very real. They come home, eat dinner, share time with their parents, grandparents everyday. In other countries the lives of the different generations seem less intertwined. Of course parents and grandparents are loved, but there is not the everyday connection.  The need to protect the elderly was not as immediate and obvious as it was in Italy. The Italians were not thinking of someone else's grandparents as they navigate their day, but they are thinking of their grandparent they would go home to that night.

Likewise with the stores. Many Italians pay with cash or debit card not credit they could only buy with the money they had in their wallet or bank balance. They did not know when their next pay check would come and they were much more cautious to go outside of their means. Many Italians also are resourceful, they had pickled and canned food from  their gardens last year. They have been pickling, canning and pressing the food from their gardens for generations. They also bake bread as routine, many have chickens in their yards and still have winter root vegetables growing in their gardens there was no need to panic.

Our family has been extremely lucky.  We are okay and are optimistic for the future. The world that changed so dramatically overnight on the 21st February 2020 continues to change and it will

" All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth Is Change.” ― Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower.

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