‘I remember saying, ‘People are being so out of control, this will be over next week.’ Now, I live in the epicenter.’: Mom urges ‘stay home’ during panic, ‘It could mean your grandpa living to see your kid’s next birthday’

“Two weeks ago, I thought all this hype about Coronavirus was just that, hype. I posted all the funny memes and my husband and I spent plenty of time rolling our eyes and making jokes. I specifically remember saying, ‘People are being so out of control, this will be over next week.’

As the days unfolded, it kept getting a little closer to home. Our home state is Washington and our home town is about an hour from the epicenter. We had been hearing first hand from friends and family about what was happening, but still, we went on saying that ‘wouldn’t happen to us here.’

We were still grabbing our açaí bowls in the morning, taking the kids to the park and going shopping.

Over the last week, more COVID-19 cases have popped up across the states. There are currently 19 in Indiana, where we are right now. I started to pay attention more. Not necessarily to what I was seeing on social media from others, but from watching the press conferences with the CDC and White House.

My husband and I are in our 30’s and yes, we probably will be just fine if we were to contract it.

But what about our elderly? Our friends who have had cancer or have autoimmune diseases?

I will be just fine, but they won’t.

I could have a mild cold but if I come in contact with them, they could end up in the hospital fighting for their lives.

This became very real to me. This was what I needed to hear to cancel all of my upcoming meetings and events.

We, as millennials, have a job to take care of our elderly and those in the compromised groups and STAY HOME. This is not to be fearful, hear me when I say that. Our family decided to do our part and get a couple of weeks’ worth of food for my family. We went to Five Below and Target and got enough activities to entertain our kids so we can enjoy our time together.

I know for some people whose jobs haven’t closed or those that work in health care can not stay home, but a lot of us can. A lot of us can do our part to stop the curve.

I know it doesn’t sound fun to stay home for the next 2 weeks and not go anywhere. But if that means stopping your best friend who had cancer stay well or your grandpa living to see your kids next birthday, I think we can handle staying home for a couple of weeks.

Clean out your closets, organize your kitchen, paint a wall. Go for a walk around your neighborhood. Whatever. Just stay home.

In the meantime, here are some of my favorite online resources are:

Education.com / ABCmouse.com / Starfall.com / Readingeggs.com / Homer reading / Vocabularyspellingcity.com / Time4learning.com

If it spreads as fast as we are seeing across the world, we have the opportunity to stop it and distance ourselves. Let’s take that time to do some self-care with our families!”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Brittnee Proha. You can follow their journey on Instagram. Submit your own story here and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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