Happy 2-year Anniversary

Remember when we were going to flatten the curve through social distancing and consistent handwashing? Only frontline workers needed to leave the house! And maybe also the kids of those essential workers who couldn’t stay home alone. We won’t know for years how much damage was done to education and everyone’s mental health. The plan at the beginning of March was to quickly rehash what happened when we were more worried about a virus than World War III, but this anniversary is messy and news out of Ukraine is worse. Here’s our scrapbook about it...

A roundup of cringey and funny posts from people who were famous pre-pandemic. Fuel for every wannabe influencer...

BOTH SIDES Madonna boasted that we are all equal from a luxurious bath while Vanessa Hudgens proclaimed death is inevitable.

EVERY GOOD STORY NEEDS A BAD GUY The silence from the White House made daily press conferences with the mayor and governor must see TV. They threw shade at each other and the federal government on top of updates about case numbers and new rules. Cuomosexuality spread rapidly. Had they not been squabbling over who could make decisions about school closures and mask mandates, maybe more lives would have been spared. Of everyone pictured here, I miss ASL interpreter Jonathan Lamberton the most. -MV

When we thought schools had closed temporarily, Kal was already set up with the Chromebook his school had given him for all of middle school. They jumped right into virtual classes. Meanwhile, Boom had to check for an emailed list of things to do. Morning announcements appeared on Instagram to help them feel connected to the elementary school. Betty’s Pre-K was farther behind, though, on suggestions for what to do, so Dad school meant she had a notebook and worked her way through the alphabet and numbers.

blue light glasses

styluses

headphones

base for tablet

wifi extender

TWO YEARS OF UNPRECEDENTED TIMES IS GOING TO LEAVE a mark. Now that masks aren’t required and my kids are all vaccinated, the First Grader doesn’t understand she constantly has a cold because she refuses to wear the mask at school. She’s free to touch her mouth and nose all she wants after touching other germy surfaces. Her runny nose is about the only “normal” thing happening, though.

It used to be easy to kill an hour at the library when my kids were being dismissed at different times. Some locations are hosting in-person events, but it looks like ours is still only functioning as a pick-up point for books ordered online. Which is probably okay because I don’t know that I remember how to parent in public yet.

I’ve been all for bringing the system back online slowly, but my Apple Watch has gone from celebrating that I stood up twice in one month to telling me I should complete 30 minutes of exercise 25 days in a row. Easy there, Watch. I’m still working on being around people I’m not related to for 30 minutes a day.

March 14, 2022, is the second anniversary of the first COVID-19 death inNYC. Nearly 40,000 residents (or 126 Lego people) have died since then—more people than the entire population of my hometown (103 Lego people).