Dear Kids,
My heart is breaking for you.
My last Safer at Home Order journal was about a month and a half ago. The numbers were stabilizing, the county was reopening. Things were starting to look like they might be getting back to “normal.” Everything was getting kind of boring. Things were reopening, numbers weren’t increasing, daily briefings were coming to an end, people were moving around more normally. Yawn.
For over a week now, we’ve had over 2000 new cases almost every day. Before reopening, it was hovering under 1000 a day. After reopening started, it rose to 1200-1500 a day, and holding. It held, kids. It looked stable. Not good, but stable. And then it shot up to over 2000. In the past week, there was only one day where the number of new cases was under 2000. We’re at just over 2900 today.
We had so many plans. The numbers were still scary, but actually kind of looking good. Dad and I are celebrating our anniversary soon and we had plans to go to the newly reopened aquarium and a restaurant we had all enjoyed for our 8th anniversary. Dad’s taking a few days off and really wants to get you guys outside. We were thinking of the beach since it’s about a half hour away. We had cautiously been watching the news for Disneyland reopening even though we’re well aware it could be a year or two before we actually return. I had been watching the website for the zoo to see when it would reopen because Sister has been asking to see the flamingos again.
But, day after day, the number of cases kept rising. Our positivity rate increased to the point where we no longer met the criteria for a variance to reopen. On Sunday, the governor ordered all bars in the county to close that day. We might even run out of hospital and ICU beds in the next couple of weeks.
I’m sad, kids. This is not the summer I had hoped. This isn’t even the childhood I had hoped for you, but, well, the world happens sometimes. On the plus side, we all have our own masks now, but there’s no way Dad and I are taking you out anywhere any time soon. I’d rather we lose our minds than lose our lives, or leave you orphans.
So, yes, my heart is breaking for you. Everything is so uncertain. We can’t guarantee we can protect you, won’t leave you. It’s scary. I worry. I’m afraid. But I have my fingers crossed people do what’s right to protect everyone and, maybe, we’ll come out of this okay.
Love, Mom
The Lily Cafe 
I am so sorry your numbers are going up. Hopefully, the kids won’t remember this the same as we will and be afraid. xo
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Thanks! They’re still going up, but I also hope the kids don’t remember. As difficult as it is some days, I also have to be happy mine are young enough to hopefully remember very little of this time.
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I don’t press like because I don’t like it. But I need to give you support. There is an end. At the end things are different, but you will be able to come back to the beach, for example. Please stay healthy, and remember that a solution will come sooner or later thanks to science. Or this we all hope 🙂
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Thank you! I’m really looking forward to the end. We were so close to getting to the beach, but too many people chose to gather and now we’re back at square one, just with worse numbers. I really have my fingers crossed science will come through for us. Just wish it could come faster!
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As you’ve said in your comments, at least the kids are young and won’t remember much from all this. Kid’s are wonderfully resilient! Hang in there =)
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Thanks! My kids impress me so much with how well they’re doing with staying inside. I hope other kids are coping as well as they can, and my fingers are crossed they can get back to the carefree childhoods they deserve as soon as possible.
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