It’s really what we make of the time.

It’s been 100 days since this adventure began.

100 days ago, we went into isolation ourselves, and I wrote my first quarantine blog.

100 days ago, you could still cross the border, still go to the movies and eat popcorn, or still go see a concert.

Now, no concerts for a while, no going to the movies (though you can order popcorn through skip the dishes), and no crossing the border to the US (not that we’d want to at the moment.)

During those 100 days, I won’t lie, we went through some tough emotional times. The-Prettiest-Girl-in-the-World was laid off and will likely not be working until the new year, or perhaps not at all if the crazy-ass mayor has his way. The boys were kept away from school, which delighted one and horrified the other (The-Oldest actually hating that he was going to miss his epic grade 12 year.)

During that time, oil prices dropped into negative territory, though they have since rebounded to about $40.00. We saw the stock market plummet 38%, a drop greater than the Great Depression. It has since mostly rebounded as well, sitting at 25,871, still down from the pre-Covid 29,551. We went from being a two-car family to a one-car one, I had to cancel all my D&D games, and we couldn’t eat out.

Shopping during our isolation involved delivery services for about 20 days. After that, we hit the stores about once a week, mostly terrified of catching and passing along the infection.

Now, I mask-up and go in the morning any day I want. TP was impossible to find for months, as was hand sanitizer and bacterial wipes. When Covid hit the food processing plants, hamburger and chicken were hard to find for a few days.

Now, today, I found hand sanitizer, and I’m pretty sure I could get TP or any of the feminine hygiene products needed.

100 days ago, the fear was real. We were amongst the first (for better or worse) to step away from the world and try to ‘flatten the curve.” My thinking at the time was selfish – if I’m being honest. Eating Kraft dinner was not a hard thing to do, but I’m not sure I could survive watching another woman I love die.

I did, however, lose my Uncle Jim (and in December, my Auntie Ruth), and in the last week, a great uncle of The-Prettiest-Girl-in-the-World has passed on, but I didn’t lose my wife or either of the boys, and for that, I am very grateful indeed.

So, hey, we made it this far, as did so many in BC. We did an outstanding job flattening that curve, baby, and now we can go get our hair cut, go to the mall if we want (we haven’t), and even see our loved ones who’ve also been in isolation.

It’s been 100 days since The-Prettiest-Girl-in-the-World has seen her 96-year-old Baba, but today we saw her. Even if we couldn’t hug her, and had to sit 6’ away, (which is, apparently, the exact distance where she can’t hear a word we’re saying), even though we had to mask-up and meet outside, even though we could only have 30 minutes with her, it was the best conclusion to our 100-day story.

I’m not sure what the next 100 days will bring, but I am very proud of how our family handled this crisis. The-Prettiest-Girl-in-the-World, in particular, was exceedingly positive and cheerful, putting up with 3 stinky boys for longer than I thought her sanity would last.

I won’t say this has been a good time since I’m pretty sure no one wants to live through a pandemic, an economic collapse, AND no visits with loved ones, but the good times we had, the challenges we overcame, I will never forget.

From the blanket fort we built, to my experimental cooking, to our TV nights (watch Upload, it’s amazing), to our shared dinners, and the goofy plans we’d make when this is all over, we made the best we could out of a bad situation.

Still true