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Days in the Lives of Jethro Gibbs and Family

(7/3/20 - Everyone please stay safe out there amidst this Covid-19 pandemic.  On whichever side of it you are, recovering or still in the midst of infections, please take the necessary precautions.  Enjoy your summer/winter and be considerate of others.)

Chapter 38               It takes a village

So things have changed in the last few months.  It has not been easy to adjust to the changes but, as with most things, you do what you have to do.  But you know what, it warms my heart to see how my neighbors and community have responded.  

It proved beneficial that we had more advanced notice than some other areas.  Dr. Sterns, our neighbor down the street, has a cousin working at the CDC and another one working for the World Health Organization (WHO) who alerted him to the spread of the coronavirus even before the WHO declared it a pandemic.  

Dr. Sterns projected that schools would close should the virus continue to spread so we met with others in the neighborhood to make plans.  We did not want to alarm anyone, so initially we kept our group small, until official announcements were made on the town, county, state and federal level.  With most of us having school age children we made plans on how to continue with their schooling should the schools close before the end of the school year.  We had a few teachers in our small group so they were able to give us possible scenarios, i.e. virtual classroom learning via the internet, home schooling, etc.

That was the beginning for us and it mushroomed after that.  Since that time we have tried to minimize the disruption to the children's routine caused by the impact of the spread of the virus always keeping in the forefront of our minds the safety of our community.

Some of us are able to work for home, some are first responders and on the front lines and others are managing as best they can.  The economic impact has been hard for many and those of us who can have provided assistance when able.  The amazing thing is that we are all helping each other to survive.  We've made new friends and strengthened already existing friendships.  Through Zoom, Skype, Facetime and the like we check up on each other, our family and friends and stay connected.

Richard and Nicole did have online school classes.  They had their computers set up in their rooms and stayed on the same schedule as if they were still in the brick and mortar classroom.  Since the children could not participate in their usual afterschool activities, McGee made online videos on computer programming and showed Torres how to film his exercise videos to share online and Bishop did videos reading various books. All of the children in the Gibbs' group shared in viewing videos as there was something made for everyone including videos suitable for John and Morgan McGee (Tim and Delilah's twins) and Victoria Palmer (James and Breena Palmer's daughter).

Back in our neighborhood it is really heartwarming to see how folks on neighboring streets made bike routes so that the children in the neighborhood could safely ride their bikes on the sidewalks.  A nearby church even used traffic cones to design an obstacle course in their parking lot so that the kids could also bike there and not worry about traffic.  We practice social distancing and wear face masks when walking in the neighborhood. Sometimes someone might forget to wear their mask outside but when they get those ‘stinky eye' looks from others they at least distance themselves.

This coming 4th of July weekend we will have a block party, of course observing all of the CDC guidelines.  We're looking forward to it.