Love in the Time of Corona: Update 1

Dear Friends and Family:

An update on the Reyes-Fuchs household.  Dateline:  Austin, Texas...

We're currently on Day Four of what we once referred to as our Spring Break, a week-long, much-needed respite from school and work, that has now been extended through the end of the month of March.  I'm skeptical as to whether or not we'll return at all, as the governor has waived state requirements for standardized testing for the remainder of the school year.  As administrators, we'll need to decide how school will happen in the absence of the actual "schoolhouse."

(This will illuminate the haves and have-nots of our population, as there are, believe it or not, still those among us who do not, or cannot, access the internet.)

On a more personal note, our family is in good spirits, as we feel the "social distance" growing between ourselves and the rest of the world.  My 14 year old, Jackson, maintains his social connections through his Playstation 4, where friends and cousins chatter into his gaming headphones deep into our Central Texas nights.  They create basketball-star avatar versions of themselves on NBA 2K, talking trash, and, I imagine, spreading misinformation on the coronavirus, faster than the virus itself.

The reality of our situation hit our older son, Diego, 16, yesterday when he and I pulled up in front of the Jungle Movement Academy, where he's been doing an internship to eventually become a fitness coach, and saw the handprinted sign on the door:  "CLOSED due to Coronavirus."  (They later called  to reassure him the closure was mandatory, and not due to any cases directly connected to the gym.)  So now Diego, who has become quite dependent on physical movement (which I love, by the way) is watching a lot of anime, drawing in his sketchbook, and stopping from time to time to do some stretching or push-ups.

Jeanette monitors the news on her phone, sharing reports with me as they come in.  Her yoga studio in Austin closed its doors days ago, and I know this affects her, as she has confided in me how much her yoga practice has come to mean to her.  I can feel her doing her best to put on a happy face -- she jokes with the boys, making them smile and laugh with her silly persona.  She also keeps us happy by cooking amazing food, like the chili con carne she prepared last night, along with some home-baked cupcakes.

As for me, I'm doing my best to be strong and to stay positive, amidst my fears, which I keep to myself, regarding the potential collapse of the grid.  I wonder about what would happen if this crisis resulted in the lights going out.  I wonder, too, if maybe I shouldn't have watched so much "Walking Dead"...

Last night I convened an online meeting of the writing group I've been a part of for the past five years, thanks to Google Hangouts.  Our usual meeting space, the Brentwood Social House on William Koenig and Arroyo Seco, notified us via email that they were shutting their doors a few days ago.  Being able to meet with my writer buddies felt important in the face of this.

And of course I check my Facebook account almost obsessively, in order to see how the rest of the world is faring.

The one thing I notice the four of us here in Casa Reyes-Fuchs all share is an obvious dependence on technology.  As long as we've got that, we'll maintain our sanity.

As long as the grid holds up....