Covid--5 years later

[LennG]

 On March 11, 2020, then President Trump declared a national health pandemic because of the Covona visus and life, as we knew it, has never been th3e same.
 I'm sure ave opur own stories about how we did at that time. Myself, I was just off a crusie in Barcelona on March 13, and the next day the entire country of Spain closed down. We were lucky to be able to get out the next day, but my kids refused to even pick us up at the airport as we were considered 'high risk'.

Life as we knew it changed, we stayed in, kids didn't go to school, people worked from home, people tried fleeing big cities, buying homes in suburbia.
Remember washing vegetables for a minute, wearing gloves for many things. I'm sure we all knew someone who passed from Covid. Entertainers were doing their thing from their basements, no fans in the stands for football and baseball, no movie theaters, and I could go on.

How has your life changed from that day 5 years ago?

Today, I think our lives are about the same as they were pre-COVID. But we are more aware in close quarters when we are in a crowd, we do wear a mask sometimes in a theater, but overall, we survived to live another day and many of our adjustments are gone.

[T200]

We're not germophobes by any stretch; pre-Covid, we would always do our best to avoid people who cough and sneeze in public, staying out of people's breathing space, and watching what we touch.

I feel like things are back to normal for us. We've always worn masks on flights but now we wear them throughout the airport.

[LennG]

 I think I told you, when we visited, Doris has always been a sort of germaphobe, in that anytime we go out to eat, or anytime we sit somewhere and use a menu, she always has her hand sanitizer ready. This has been her thing way before Covid. She used to offer it to anyone who we were eating with and most politely refused, but since Covid, many take her up on it.

I think many people are more aware of germs these days, be it from Covid or just trying to stay more healthy.

PLUS, we always had an endless supply of hand sanitizer (because of my wife's habits) but now we also have an endless supply of toilet paper. Hey, it never goes bad--right.

[MightyGiants]

I think there are psychological scars that most are unaware of.  As someone who has 30 years of experience in emergency medicine, I know that all scars are not readily apparent and impact people in ways they are often unaware of.

I think the ugly world we currently live in can be traced partly to the scars from the trauma that was Covid.

I am in the final year of the series Shameless and their last season was when the world was starting to come out of Covid (partly open, and masking).   I can say it bothers me in a way I can't fully describe, being reminded of the masking and the isolation.

[LennG]

 I wonder how the Covid years really affected children? Many watched parents and grandparents die without a time frame notice.
Going to school had its complications. I know from my grandkids, how much did they really fall behind with trying to learn from home? I think it is bad enough our country lags behind many other countries in education, and missing basically an entire year (and please don't tell me most kids really learned while at home), has to effect them overall. Will getting into college be tougher for them?

[Sem]

I wonder how the Covid years really affected children? Many watched parents and grandparents die without a time frame notice.
Going to school had its complications. I know from my grandkids, how much did they really fall behind with trying to learn from home? I think it is bad enough our country lags behind many other countries in education, and missing basically an entire year (and please don't tell me most kids really learned while at home), has to effect them overall. Will getting into college be tougher for them?

Just speaking for my own family here. Our daughter is a HS teacher at a very prestigious private school in Westlake Village. Both her kids came out of the Covid years' remote learning with straight A's and have maintained them ever since. Our son is divorced, but he has a good relationship with his ex, who is also a teacher. Both our son's boys are also straight A students, the oldest at 15 has already been recommended for AP courses.
Both my wife and I are retired from the local school district, and witnessed first hand the effects Covid had on  student learning. But I believe that students whose parents were willing and able to take a more active role in their children's "Covid years" have resulted in better outcomes for those kids. Of course in the case of families where both parents work away from the home it becomes infinitely harder for parents to keep their kids fully engaged. I guess what I'm saying is that there is no one size fits all when it comes to the Covid years.

[LennG]

 You didn't say if you were a teacher, Steve, but my wife was a Para in the NYC school district. (Not during Covid) and not looking to turn this thread in another direction, you are spot on about parents and their thinking towards learning and taking that active part in the process. I mentioned my wife, because she worked in Special Ed for a while and then in an elementary school. She used to come home every day shaking her head as to why many of the parents just think that the teachers are the only ones to educate their kids. You know, "They are getting paid good money, so why isn't my little one smarter?".
Parents, have to take on some of the responsibility also. If learning is not followed through at home as well as in school, well we can already see the results when state-wide test scores come in. Too many parents just leave the teaching and learning process to the teachers when they also have to set the groundwork and follow through on it.

[Sem]

Len, my wife was a HS librarian when we lived in NY. She retired on her 55th birthday and an hour later we were driving a Ryder truck, with our belongings, to California (that's the short version). I had 35+ years at IBM before getting laid off. Due to my age (55 when laid off), and years of service I qualified for retirement benefits which includes a pension for life. At 55 my wife and I both felt we had a few more years in us, so we each got jobs in our local school district. Her as a librarian, and me in I/T. Mine was a very rewarding job, I visited classrooms (K-12) daily, and also mentored HS students interested in a possible career in I/T. We both got to see the negative effects that home schooling due to Covid had on students.
We both retired again a couple years ago. This time for good.