To say this week has been bizarre would be an understatement. To those who are reading these words right now, this would seem obvious. Therefore, it is not for them that I write this post, but for readers in the future after this has passed and we look back and say things like "remember that one time...?" and then we either laugh or nod solemnly or maybe don't remember at all. To them, I want to give a description of things as seen through my small window into reality, because right now that all seems a little bit topsy-turvy.

A virus has been spreading around the world with cold and flu-like symptoms. It is highly contagious, has no known cure, and carries a death rate that is around 3%, but may be has high as 20% in older or more vulnerable populations. It's advancement seems relentless as it mocks even the most extreme efforts of containment.

Initially, America's leaders downplayed the severity of this thing as they watched it coming. It was fake news. It was a conspiracy. It was unwarranted worry. When people started dying in Italy at a rate of one person every four minutes, people changed their minds real fast. Both the stock market and the supermarket were depleted overnight as people prepared for the unknown. This, in turn created a wake-up call for some and panic for others. Stores are not able to maintain a supply of even basic goods, and almost all have begun to ration things like pasta, toilet paper, and OTC medicine.

In the absence of clear leadership at the national level, governors started stepping up and issuing orders for their respective states. This has created some confusion, as neighboring states have had different responses, but it does make some sense since not all states have been hit equally. New York has a person dying every hour. My home-state of Idaho has, so far, no reported deaths and only a few confirmed cases. My guess is that in the end we will all be in the same boat, but states with larger and denser populations will certainly be affected the most. 

In some areas, people are being mandated to stay in their homes. Almost all schools have been closed. Businesses are shutting down left and right, and unemployment is rising (or expected to rise) to levels not seen since the Great Depression. It is nearly impossible to go anywhere in public without seeing people wearing PPE (masks and gloves), and there is enormous social pressure to maintain a "safe" distance from others, as a person could easily become a vector for "the virus."

The virus, it would seem, is all anybody is thinking about. Every interaction is colored by its effects as people hash and rehash what we know and what we don't, argue over "proper" emotional or political responses, or commiserate with one another about how it has affected them personally. Uncertainty seems to be the only thing anybody can agree upon, while radicals are only too happy for a growing audience of people yearning for some sort of explanation or sense of control.

Where this all ends up a month, or a year from now is for anyone to say. For many, I fear, it will prove to be devastating on some level. For others, it will barely register as a blip during the course of their lifetimes. It does seem like one of those things though, much like 9/11, where it is clear that history is being made, and I have to admit that it is (and I say this cautiously)...a little bit exciting just to realize the significance of this moment.

What does this all of this mean for our own family? Well, we haven't stocked up on toilet paper if that is the question. We are doing our best to hold it together as the kids are home from school. They still do their classes each day online, but Rachel and I both acknowledge freely that neither of us are cut out very well to be stay-at-home parents, and we steal personal time away as much as possible. Opportunities to do things outside of the house are dwindling, and I have never been so thankful in my life for "screen time."

At church, I continue to play in the band. If anything, the extra downtime has allowed me to practice more, and I have even started playing bass guitar on occasion. Services are now live-streamed on the internet to our congregation, but it is weird not to have people in front of us when we play. I am used to looking up at 300 friendly faces, and it is a little unsettling to see nothing but a camera and the 15 or so people on the staff who are running things.

Climbing has also come to a near stand-still. I try to stay in shape, but with all the gym closures and social distancing policies, I fear my season will not be what I had hoped for. Already, I am anticipating the need to cancel an "A-list" trip next month to Red Rocks (though I haven't yet), and many of my spring-time projects have been postponed due to travel restrictions. This is one of the first years that my skill level, my equipment, my partners, and my time available have all lined up to allow me a realistic chance of reaching goals I have had since high school, and it is a little bit frustrating to see this window of opportunity closing.

At work, I am limited to seeing patients only for urgent needs. This is as much for the sake of "flattening the curve" as it is for the inability we have of keeping employees safe given the nature of our jobs. As a general dentist, this cuts off about 90% of my patient flow, and consequentially, about the same percentage of my income. It's not just dentists either- the entire industry has been hit hard. Livelihoods will be lost.

For now, in Idaho at least, limiting work is only a "strong recommendation" from multiple sources, but has yet to become a mandate. The truth is that nobody really knows how to handle this situation, and responsibility keeps getting passed from agency to agency. "The situation is fluid" is the most common thing to hear. Nobody wants to shut down dental offices entirely, as they do a LOT to divert traffic away from an already overtaxed hospital system. On the other hand, nobody wants them to be in business either since they sit at the very top of the risk curve for contracting and spreading this virus. In short, everyone is wondering what to do, and it looks increasingly likely that the answers we do have are coming from nothing more than a magic 8 ball.

A few days ago, our neighboring state of Washington enacted an actual law requiring all dental offices to restrict normal operations until May 18. Some states have been talking about even longer suspensions. Things seem to be completely up in the air (no pun intended), and there seem to be no answers. The way things are looking, this state of generalized anxiety and uncertainty looks like it will last much longer than just a couple of weeks.

Given this information, I think it is important to say to those who might be concerned about our family's welfare- don't worry. We are fine. In fact, we are far better off, probably, than the majority of people during these uncertain times. We might go bonkers with boredom, it is true, but if that is the worse of it then I think we'll be okay. That is all.

As for Rachel, she gets to carry an official card with her to work in Washington because she is considered an "essential worker...integral to the infrastructure...etc." It seems almost dystopian to think she could ever actually be stopped and asked to produce "papers" allowing her to roam free in her own country, but I guess that is where we are at now. In fact, things have, if anything, been busier than ever for her. I imagine that for the next little while she will be the main breadwinner for our family, a role which she is almost too happy to fill given the alternative of preparing meals, homeschooling, and solving the endless variety of childish tiffs that seem endemic to daily life in our household.

She has also spent and increasing amount of time with CDAide- a local charity that she works with for the benefit of hospitality workers. She recently took on additional responsibilities in this organization at a time where the need has never been greater. I am not clear of all that she does here, but if anyone wants to talk to her about it, I'm sure she'd love to fill you in.

Meanwhile...

We do our best to keep it together. We have tried to establish some sort of structure to our days, and things really are running pretty smoothly. We got a pickleball set, and the weather is starting to be nice enough to go on family walks or bike rides. Maren has been saving up her money and surprised me a few days ago by purchasing two small rabbits that live on top of her dresser (apparently her and Rachel had been keeping this plan a secret from me for some time). The kids and I managed to get into the library just hours before it shut down and the kids stocked up on books to read. Spring cleaning is underway, and by the end of all this our home will either look like a magazine cover, or a disaster zone. Things could really go either way. 

In short, we are staying busy and staying positive. As our kids learned at camp this last summer- "Life can be crazy, wild and amazing." Never were truer words spoken.

Have a good week!

Baby bunnies make everything nice :)

We went and saw Cabaret. Fun night out and a good show...and probably the last we will be going to for a while. 

What a surreal week it has been! It seems like the whole world is shutting down. The kids don't have school and all of our usual hangouts (gyms, pools, ski resorts, libraries, museums, etc.) are closed. If this bug doesn't take us out, we might take each other out due to cabin fever.

Honestly I thought at first that this was a lot of knee-jerk panicking and I sort of rolled my eyes at it all. The more I learn about this virus, however, the more I think all the shutdowns and quarantines and social distancing are exactly the response that is needed. It's not panic- it's action. Pretending that things are less serious than reality is akin to putting one's head in the sand and is not helpful to anyone.

Needless to say, things have affected us quite profoundly. As of today, I have closed the office to all but emergency patients. It's a big move to make and will end up being a very expensive decision, but more and more dentists are doing the same thing and I feel strongly that it is the right thing to do given this environment. Right now we are planning on running things this way for three weeks. I also think it is very possible that it will last longer than that.

Things are nuts. Crazy.

*****

On a lighter note...

This is Lindsey. She doesn't need to be in a wheelchair, but she is. This was all before the schools shut down and the story deserves to be told.

About a week ago she decided to "jump off our deck." Now, I don't know exactly what that means because I wasn't there, but our deck is pretty high and I'm sure if she actually took that kind of a plunge that the damage would be much worse. She did, however, hurt her foot enough for us to take her into a doctor. Turns out she has a minor sprain. It will heal itself, but she will favor that side for a while. No biggie, right?

Well, the next day the school called both Rachel and me while we were at work. "We need you to come and get Lindsey. She can't put much weight on her left foot."
"Yeah, we know. It's been checked out and she is fine."
"No, we need you to come and get her."
"Right...Why don't you just keep her in school until I can come get her."

...I picked her up 30 minutes before the final bell. She was smiling and happy. A little gimpy perhaps, when she walked, but otherwise she was perfectly fine. Definitely not something to get a parent out of work for.

The next day, apparently, Rachel got in an argument with the school. They didn't want her. Even though she was getting along just fine on her own, the school wasn't comfortable watching her limp. "A teacher would have to hold her hand," they said, and "they simply didn't have enough people available to watch out for her."

"Wait, what? Since when did you turn children away from school because they couldn't walk very well? Do you turn kids away in wheelchairs too? They need ten times more assistance than Lindsey! She is fine, and we have other responsibilities we need to take care of. It's not like she's contagious or anything."

They wouldn't budge. So...We borrowed a wheelchair. I am assuming that this is a much larger burden on the school than having her limp along by herself, but they legally can't turn her away now. So there!

But it doesn't matter anymore because school is closed anyway. Joke's on us, I suppose.

For what it's worth, Lindsey is doing better every day. She is now walking almost normally, and even went rock climbing with us a few days ago. She isn't about to jump rope anytime soon, but she doesn't seem discouraged at all and is handling recovery quite well. What a trooper.

*****

Well, that's it for this week. If anyone is wanting to go climbing or anything, it looks like I might have more free time on my hands than I know what to do with. Give me a call.

And have a good week!

I am constantly reminded of how in love I am with the area we live in and with the lives we have built here. This weekend was one of those times.

On Saturday, we went climbing at Vantage. Kids did well. I am climbing better than ever- especially with trad stuff which is a goal of mine this year. Rach led a sport route too, and did a really good job with that. It was an amazing day with beautiful weather.

The next day started out by me playing in the band and then skiing until the resort closed. Two things here: First of all, I am loving my new guitar. Seriously, it makes a huge difference. Picture driving a Chevy your whole life, and then switching over to a Ferrari. Even if your driving didn't change that much, and the roads were the same ones you've always been on, the experience would still be completely different. It would also probably motivate you to drive more often and to learn some more advanced tecniques. Well, that is like my new guitar. It is a Ferrari and I love it.

The second thing is the quality of skiing this weekend. I spent almost the whole day with Jackson, and I can honestly say he is the best ski partner I have ever had. His goal was to do all the hardest runs (double blacks) at the resort in a single day without ever falling- and he did it! I was the proud dad, and found myself in a state of euphoric flow on many occasions that day as we carved turns around each other, whooping, hollering, and bantering the whole way down the mountain. What a day!

Also, how cool is it that we can have back-to-back perfect climbing and skiing on two consecutive days? Oh yeah!

And then on Monday, with all the kids in school, Rach and I had our traditional breakfast date. We also spent a long time at the climbing gym together. All told, I climbed 25 pitches this weekend, all ranging from 5.10 to 5.12. Some of that was inside, some was sport, and some was trad, but either way, that is some good mileage for me.

It was a good week :)

This post is basically just a big photo dump. Enjoy!

Jack did a scout cake thing. He got an award for the biggest cake. He made it all by himself. It tasted like a candle, but that wasn't really his fault.
I don't know if I'll ever be that dad who is all into scouting and patriotism and wilderness lore and ceremony and everything else that comes with it. I'm reasonably sure I won't be. I think I still have PTSD from that point in my own life.
...But it sure is fun watching your kids do stuff they are passionate about. Jack is a cool kid. 

Here's something that I can definitely get into with him though. Jack skied his first double black this past weekend. He actually did it twice, because he fell the first time (one of the best falls I've seen all year!) and he wanted to "master" it. The second time down he did great!  

Happy Jack. This is still his favorite run (for obvious reasons).

Just a few more ski pictures. The bottom one is with Jamie, who Rach skis with occasionally during the week while the kids are at school. Oh, it's a rough life we live.

Here's Rachel and Maren watching the play "Peter Pan"

The cake that Rachel made

And here's a few from Maren's birthday party sleepover. A lot of the things for the tea party were actually birthday presents. The cute little table setting has become a permanent fixture in her bedroom.

Here's Ev roasting a marshmallow at the outdoor expo we went to

Here are some pictures from Evelyn's birthday sleepover. In case you can't tell from the cake that Rachel made, they ate a bunch of junk food. They also did a "spa night" while the rest of the family watched a movie and stayed out of the way.

Alright. That's it.

Have a good week!