Photo By Missy Kaiser

 

Steve Tully - 68 yrs old, Retired 

Teresa Tully - 64 yrs old, Retired 

Shay Goodwin-Tully - 12 yrs old, 6th grade SMS student

 

We are coping well most of the time. The first couple of weeks were probably the hardest for all three of us. We have each dealt with the quarantine in different ways and had many different feelings. 

 

Steve felt very confined for the first two weeks. He went for a drive several times just to get out of the house. He has settled into staying home more now but is always the one who goes to pick up groceries, etc.

 

Teresa had actually been out of town for a few days right before the stay-at-home orders were issued so she was fine with being home in the beginning. She caught up on sleep and did some binge watching on the TV. However, she was a little too obsessed with the news media at first. Once distance learning began for public schools on April 6th she has been helping to keep three of the grandkids on track with school and turning in assignments.

 

Shay was very disappointed when she realized she couldn’t go to school, church, dance, Girl Scouts and all of her extra curricular activities. After about three weeks she settled into her new normal but still misses seeing friends her own age in person. Luckily she is involved in several types of Zoom classes/meetings so hasn’t had to be completely cutoff from friends and activities.

 

All three family members have been more sedentary and home bound than necessary. Without a strict schedule none of us has been very motivated. While getting lots of fresh air and exercise would have been the best way to spend time, the periodic rainy, cold weather kept everyone inside enjoying the fireplace quite a bit. We rarely feel rushed which has been a welcome change to our previous lifestyle.

 

We are most thankful that all of our loved ones have continued to stay healthy. Living in Stillwater has been a blessing because we have not had to endure the crisis situations so many big cities have experienced. We feel extremely blessed because of this!