Alice’s pysanky (Courtesy of Alice)
During the pandemic, WTTW News is checking in with a few people around the city and suburbs to see how the “new normal” is affecting their everyday lives and communities, and we’ll keep in touch as events progress. To date, none of the subjects in today’s dispatches are reporting any symptoms or diagnoses of COVID-19.
Did you miss week one? Read it here to learn more about each person featured.
Check out week two here and go here for week three. And if you’d like to add your voice, contact us! We want to hear your stories.
Jenny
What would you say is the biggest mental shift you’ve had to make so far?
The Groundhog Day experience. Every day of my life I’ve woken up and mentally gone through every obligation that day. The best part was waking up on Saturday and once in a while realizing there was absolutely not one thing to do. Every day is like this. It’s old.
Would you say you’re busier or less busy during quarantine than you were before?
I feel more busy? I let my kids wake up on their own — screw a schedule. We are baking a lot (like every other person on Earth), planting seeds for and in the garden, lots of STEM toys like snap circuits and LEGO, and alllll the ignored books on the shelf. So I am aware of time and energy spent on those efforts more than I usually am.
Do you feel like Chicago and Illinois are on the right path?
I feel like they are looking out for us all by giving us accurate and truthful information and seeking and securing equipment. I am scared when I see low-income and rural neighborhoods without resources and access to information. I am worried about the peak that is yet to come.
If you had plans for Easter/Passover, have they changed?
I ordered a bag of Easter candy from Amazon as soon as we were told to stay in place. My husband went to Costco this week for the first time since February (our first time grocery shopping since March 13) and he found lamb *and* ham. We will hide some plastic eggs filled with the candy. We will eat a nice dinner with fancy spring meat and expensive asparagus from the greengrocer that delivers to us. Alleluia!
If you could do anything right now outside of your home, what would it be?
I would go out to dinner with my husband and share something that does not feed six people, two of whom are giant teen boys who eat like locusts. He is the only one leaving the house right now, to lessen the risk of exposure, so I’d love to go to the store and pick out produce.
What neighborhood efforts are you seeing to help each other?
Lots of art on our walks. Lots of sharing errands, for example, we order eggs for our neighbors each week from our source. They drop strawberries on our porch for the youngest. Bob has become a coffee fairy, making same day deliveries to locals.
Alice and Chris
What would you say is the biggest mental shift you’ve had to make so far?
Probably the concept of time. It’s sort of like we’ve regressed back to when the kids were little — days are long but time feels like it’s moving fast.
Would you say you’re busier or less busy during quarantine than you were before?
This is going to sound like a cop out but I feel like the we are just as busy but in different ways. We are both working full-time from home, and the kids have school and activities all online, the dog has become super needy and wants walks and treats all the time. I wish getting those commuting hours back translated into more time, but that space seems to get filled with things that need to get done. I have made time after dinner to work on some pysanky though. It’s actually quite meditative.
Do you feel like Chicago and Illinois are on the right path?
The trajectory of overall case numbers seem to indicate we are doing the right thing. I see more people outside with masks this week so that feels like progress. I still see too many people going outside and interacting with others though, especially as the weather gets nicer which is unfortunate. It’s so hard to stay the course, and so often the people who are harmed are not those who are acting carelessly.
If you had plans for Easter/Passover, have they changed?
We had nothing planned originally, we usually go to mass and spend time with my sister’s family, but will be staying at our house and hopefully having a FaceTime brunch.
If you could do anything right now outside of your home, what would it be?
I’d love to go on a long run with my sister either down the lakefront path or the state park where she lives. And then maybe the farmer’s market.
What neighborhood efforts are you seeing to help each other?
We just moved to this neighborhood in the fall, but people are so supportive and friendly it’s great. I’ve seen efforts organizing volunteers for people who need assistance during this time, examples of support for local businesses, a neighbor offering to make masks for people, another asking if people want to go in on a large order of soil so the delivery cost is manageable. It’s really heartening to be in a space where community looks out for each other and finds ways to connect even now. Not to be corny, but that’s what makes this city great.
Chris
What would you say is the biggest mental shift you’ve had to make so far?
Mentally, I’m still adapting to the sort of low-level stress required to maintain vigilance about hand-washing, congregating with others, etc.
Would you say you’re busier or less busy during quarantine than you were before?
Busier, but only because I invented a bunch of online activities to distract myself with while my work slowed.
Do you feel like Chicago and Illinois are on the right path?
Better path? Yes. Right path? Not yet. We won’t really be on our way out of this situation until we have mechanisms in place to reduce spread without undertaking our current, draconian social-distancing measures (i.e., until there is extremely widespread testing, no-contact temperature checks at places of congregation, widespread availability of surgical masks among the general public, etc.
If you had plans for Easter/Passover, have they changed?
My girlfriend and I attended a virtual seder on Wednesday, and it was a positive reminder that this is not humanity’s first plague, and that we’ve persevered through much worse, even if there’s likely to be great suffering in the interim.
If you could do anything right now outside of your home, what would it be?
Grab a torta de cochinita pibil at Taco Max on Elston and Irving Park.
What neighborhood efforts are you seeing to help each other?
My girlfriend, who is a much better person than I, is phone banking seniors through the office of Sen. Ram Villivalam and the Greater Irving Park Neighborhood Association. She writes: “https://www.gofundme.com/f/irving-park-mutual-aid has links to volunteer as well as donate. I was added to the group after filling out a form Kelly Hayes created; there are now mutual aid groups in many Chicago neighborhoods, many through aldermanic offices. State officials are also starting groups; I’m volunteering with Senator Ram Villivalam's office, which covers the community where I work (Skokie). It would be an amazing service to create a map of all the overlapping groups and I am sure we would see some big holes in our civilian-driven services.”
Me, I’m mostly making sure the players in the D&D game I’m DMing stay comfortably distracted during a time of crisis.
Steve
What would you say is the biggest mental shift you’ve had to make so far?
Keeping busy on the weekends and finding things to do.
Would you say you’re busier or less busy during quarantine than you were before?
Definitely less busy. Before we would go to the gym like six days a week. We do take walks every day — or try to depending on weather. Weekends we would go places like the Botanical Garden, or go shopping for errands or whatever to just do something.
Do you feel like Chicago and Illinois are on the right path?
Yes, I think the stay-at-home (order) is working, of course when it was 80 degrees the other day I think too many people were out. We had been walking on trails at the Forest Preserve and on that day we chose to walk the neighborhood since there were too many people on the trails.
If you had plans for Easter/Passover, have they changed?
Yes, we were going to have some family over, and now it looks like we will not do that. My daughter and son-in-law did have the virus but has since recovered for over a week, but I doubt we will still have them over as guidelines suggest it is not really a good idea.
If you could do anything right now outside of your home, what would it be?
Go to the office, or go shopping or the gym.
What efforts in your neighborhood, if any, are you seeing of folks pitching in to help each other?
When we do walk around the neighborhood we do see people talking to each other from across the lawn or across the street. And even on the trails people do smile at each other and say hello. Everyone seems more friendly. I do see chalk-writing on the sidewalks and signs in people’s windows.
Mikal
What would you say is the biggest mental shift you’ve had to make so far?
Resisting the urge to immediately hug my husband when he comes home — it’s hard. He comes in from work, now, and I’m standing at the back door, ready to take his coat and clothes. I only hug him after he takes his shower. Often, the girls forget. They’ll run to him, anyway, and we have to stop them.
Mikal’s daughter studies for confirmation class. (Courtesy of Mikal)
Would you say you’re busier or less busy during quarantine than you were before?
I’m still busy, but being home makes me feel like I’m playing catch-up daily. I have training and projects to complete for work. I have classes, and three remote learning curriculums to monitor. Now, I’m sewing masks. Dinner is served later each day, and I squeeze in the binge watching as a way to spend time with my husband. But I also have more time to notice that the ceiling fans and blinds need dusting.
Do you feel like Chicago and Illinois are on the right path?
I hope so. Governor Pritzker remains aggressive about securing more federal assistance — the trick is to get that help without setting off President Trump. No one should have to be wary of a megalomaniac’s ego during an emergency, but here we are. By comparison, I have family and friends in Missouri — where I once lived, also. Parson, the governor there, issued a “stay-at-home” order only a week ago. Unbelievable. I’ve also learned that at least one person in my family is battling COVID-19.
If you had plans for Easter/Passover, have they changed?
We usually head to my in-laws for Easter dinner after church, complete with an epic Easter-egg hunt orchestrated by Grandma. It took far too long for me to remember that I was in charge of dinner this year. If my new batch of groceries doesn’t arrive in time, I’m just going to make a celebration feast out of what we have.
If you could do anything right now outside of your home, what would it be?
I’d go and read a book on what’s left of the beach.
What neighborhood efforts are you seeing to help each other?
I live in the neighborhood that, currently, has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the city. With the revelation of what’s also happening across the West and South sides, I took the news like a gut-punch. But, I also notice that our local businesses are closing more frequently for deeper cleaning. That’s encouraging. Resident groups and neighbors … well, some are placing blame. Others are showing empathy.
Our neighborhood is served by two alderwomen, and I can say that mine has been a rock star at delivering updates and common-sense information. That’s no easy job, considering how many different cultures need to be navigated, comforted, and protected in Rogers Park.
Nancy
What would you say is the biggest mental shift you’ve had to make so far?
I find it hard to think about the future if it’s anywhere between a month or so from now and six months from now. For the next month, I know that basically tomorrow will be just like today. Six months from now, I think we’ll be on our way, at least, to a new normal. Everything in between is a big mystery and I don’t like thinking about it.
Would you say you’re busier or less busy during quarantine than you were before?
Less busy. I like having people over, which we definitely would have done a couple of times in this timespan if, you know, we weren’t doing that. So that means no fun of menu planning, no figuring out what board games we’re going to play and re-learning the rules, etc. Less laundry! There’s an uptick in meal prep and dishes that’s filling some of the time, but in all, there’s some slack.
If you had plans for Easter/Passover, have they changed?
Typically my husband’s family has a big meal together, about 35 people. That’s off this year. This year’s Easter dinner will be one giant leg of lamb for just the two of us. We’ll do potatoes and a simple green salad and that’s that. And then we’ll have leftover lamb for sandwiches!
If you could do anything right now outside of your home, what would it be?
Without a doubt: I would go to The Victor Bar for a drink. (For three drinks (at least)).
Follow Erica Gunderson on Twitter: @ekgundy
