Just about a year ago today my wife decided she was going to pack up her office and figure out how to work from home. The next day, her company decided to follow suite and completely switched to working remotely. Over the next week we watched as the world we knew it came to a screeching halt and Our Corona Story began.

A year later I’m still unemployed. Missy, myself, and the girls have remained in a word, healthy. In brief, we have been living a dream like scenario that would make us the envy of the entire world. I doubt a single human being on earth has found more joy, happiness, and complacency during this last year than the four of us.

A year ago I was generally unaware of how absolutely great living in a socially distant world would be for a guy like me, a wife like mine, and our two preschool aged daughters.

Since even before the pandemic, hand hygiene and social distancing had been at the forefront our minds. I was a public educator for over a decade. Each year I made it my personal mission to provide my students with a safe and sterile learning environment. It was my own way of stopping the spread of germs. Plus, I hated making sub plans, and having students out of school due to illness. These professional and personal proclivities were greatly enhanced due to the decades long connection to my wife and her deep seeded fear of the flu.

A year ago both of our daughters were enrolled in preschool and we had finally settled into the routine of runny noses, fevers, ear infections, trips to our pediatrician, and all those rites of passage that come with public education. If I have any misgivings about this last year it was taking away random friends and acquaintances from our daughters. However, not a sniffle, a cough, fever, or an ear infection to report over this last year.

A year ago general wearing of a mask was met with skepticism. But, for me I’ve always been willing to mask up. First, with a handkerchief, then a gator, now a whole slew of mask options and styles. I thought it was the lease we could do for those front line workers that had no option but show up to work to keep us healthy, feed, and sane. Whether they were stocking the shelves at our local grocery store, working in a hospital, give have to and should continue to do if we need to place ourselves into a confined space where social distancing can not be reasonably guaranteed.

Over the last year we have all made lots of daily decisions and our daily routines have been adapted and adopted. Did we need it? Was the risk reward scenario worth it? Being a mild prepper at heart and a new found friend in Drizly, as well as other food/grocery delivery options made available we hunkered down with the best of them from the get go. I only once gave into the hysteria and wiped down our boxed groceries with knock off Lysol wipes. We never horded anything, not even toilet paper.

As a family we kept those closest, closest to us, and in our lives. We were lucky to see some of our friends old and new in person. We all made sacrifices big and small. We all grew and hopefully learned to be better people.

Over the last year, we by and large followed all laws and mandates and never put anyone else’s life in jeopardy. I would argue that we all tried our best to use our voices to be the change we want to see in this shared world of ours. We have learned a lot about some pretty important areas of public interest and politics in general.

If you know me, you know I could go on and on and on. But, no one has time for that. I hope to keep the conversations going. But for now it’s time to put my dad hat on for the day.

We, still don’t have it all figured out just yet. But, we’re workin on it.

Ken