Storyteller: Anna Bradford
Crystal is a 39 year old elementary school teacher from Midland Michigan, who is also a mother to two kids. She first became aware of the spreading COVID-19 illness when schools started discussing, what was supposed to be, a temporary shutdown in early March of 2020.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, Crystal’s life changed in a way that many peoples did; her and her family became very cautious about where they were going in public and really thought about if it was necessary to leave the house.
Something that Crystal learned from this uncommon situation was to slow down in life and spend more time with her family. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, she states they were always on the go, always busy and doing something, until suddenly they were forced to stay home which made them get creative with their time together. On the other hand, Crystal noticed that COVID-19 took away their freedom. While they were happy to get extra time together, it wasn’t by choice, and they no longer could visit other family and friends and do things they normally would do in their daily routine.
Mask wearing is something that has become universally mandated and something many people have had to adjust to. Crystal mentioned her experience and how learning to wear a mask and making sure you always had one with you was a new learning curve altogether.
Spending quarantine with her husband and her two kids, ages nine and six, Crystal notes that there was always something to laugh about. She had to get creative with their time together and find activities to do while stuck inside.
In the grand scheme of things, the novel COVID-19 pandemic has taught Crystal about patience and how to handle everything you do with more care and tolerance. Things take time, and that fact becomes apparent when all you have is time.
MIPandemicStory 