January 2020 was quiet in the office and at home. I had settled into a routine of work and sleep. The highlight of my week was bowling with a group of ladies. I was terrible bowling but I really enjoyed the social aspect of the time out. My son, Adam worked most nights so I spent the rest of the time alone.

I went to Florida on February 15, 2020. There were rumblings of some sort of virus spreading but no one was really that concerned. Donald Trump was the news, not the virus. He was telling the world that there was nothing to worry about. I was there 5 days, staying with my friends Don and Tena and reliving old times with them.

When I returned home there were less than two dozen cases in Ontario but the world was becoming a scary place. People across the world were getting sick. Within two weeks the cases in Ontario doubled. The first person in Ontario died on March 17. Dozens of people were getting ill daily in Ontario. Hospitals were filling. Residents of Long Term Care Homes were dying by the dozens. Ontario was locked down under a state of emergency.

Streets were empty, it was hard to find toilet paper and some groceries. Stores had long line ups. Everyone was masked, gloved and tense. Most businesses were closed but law offices were deemed essential. You were supposed to stay home if possible. Businesses were closed. I tried to work from home for a month but found it difficult so I went back to the office before most of the others. Only a few stayed there during the official lock down.

Streets were empty when I drove to work. March, April … the beginning of May. People were dying across the world, our ICUs were full and we all were scared. Donald Trump endangered the world by spreading rumors and lies.

Politics came into play here at home. We had rolling lock downs, promises of vaccines, colour coded lockdowns and ever changing targets. Businesses opened, closed, opened, partially closed, people were masked, unmasked, gloved … it went on and on. Vaccines were approved in early February and people started getting their shots. Numbers started to go up again and we had a second state of emergency declared with a stay at home area but this time it was totally different than the first time. People were out, lined up to get groceries and went to work. Basically restaurants were closed and small businesses were closed but box stores were allowed to stay open.

I worried constantly about my family and friends. Are they safe? I couldn’t sleep, stress was so high.