Have you ever lost something or someone and realized later on how important they or it actually was to you? For me that was when the COVID-19 Pandemic started. At first everything was typical. I was in school with my classmates in early March of 2020. Little did any of us know our lives would drastically change in the coming days.

The day before my life and everyone else's would change immensely was ordinary and calm. I went to school with my friends, learned a moderate amount and went home on the bus like normal. After I got off the bus, the engine roared vociferously as it pulled away from my stop. As my dad walked towards me I noticed the puzzled look on his face. He then proceeded to tentatively tell me that my mom was going to be working late that night. This was irregular, considering that she tests illnesses for a living, but I went along with it.

Later that night I wasn’t able to sleep really well. It was probably three in the morning, and I heard an alarming noise downstairs of the door creaking open. I quickly grabbed a flashlight and cautiously walked downstairs; I heard more terrifying noises of cabinets opening and closing and the microwave starting. I finally got down the stairs to find only my mom heating up her dinner. I was very perplexed as to why she was eating dinner at three in the morning. I knew she was working late, but I didn’t think it would be this late.

Next thing I know it’s the morning and I’m late for school. I rushed down the stairs to find my dad sitting at the kitchen counter. I asked him why he wasn’t at work this late in the morning. He then explained to me that there was no school for a while and that a deadly virus had spread all over the world. This made me think about why Mom stayed so late. Maybe, just maybe, it was because of the virus.

Later that day, after my mom left for work again, it was all over the news  that a deadly virus was killing people to the point that it felt like no one was left. The titles echoed in the back of my head for what seemed like forever until my dad brought me out of my profound trance. We had to figure out how to make dinner. I could already tell that it wasn’t going to go well when my dad almost burned pasta sauce. Life had taken a haphazard turn to say the least, and it was only going to get harder.

The longer I was in lockdown the longer I felt my list of responsibilities grow, like when you leave a sponge in water overtime it grows larger and larger the longer it's in the water. I had to learn to be patient with my father’s cooking skills; I had to learn to figure things out on my own. Trying to get into a routine messed me up for the first few days but gradually got better as the days went on. However, I could tell it was only going to get harder if this lasted any longer.

Closer to a month into lock down, I had to learn how to do my own laundry  and make my own choices because my mom hadn’t been around to do it. I couldn’t believe how hard it was, and that my mom did it on a daily basis.  My mom had taken care of my sister and I for our entire lives, and I had no idea how hard it was.  

Looking back I see how much I took my mom for granted, but now I have so much respect for her and see how hard she works everyday. I also gained an immense amount of responsibility and self-reliance too. Finally, now knowing what I now know, I realize how not just me but everyone takes it for granted. I feel that more people should reflect on how much they actually have before it’s gone.

 

 

 

 

-Keeley L.