May 12, 2020
First of all, when I heard about the virus I didn’t believe it. I thought it will be like the flu season. I didn’t know it will get worse but it is very bad. I am very scared for my family and for the other people, many people are dying all over the world.
My husband’s aunt and cousins got the virus. They live in Denver Colorado. His aunt’s husband is in the hospital in a coma. Some people I know are sick in Chicago. My sister knows people who died in her home town in Mexico.
Thank God everybody is still healthy in Sonoma. We are wearing masks to go to the store, which at first was funny but now we are getting comfortable with it. But sometimes I feel that I am going to get a heart attack. I am calling my family every day in case something happened to them or to me.
July 28, 2020
We went to Mexico early in December. We didn’t hear anything about the COVID-19. When we came back we saw on the TV news people talking about the disease in China where many people were getting sick. I went back to Mexico at the end of January. A few people were wearing masks in the airport in San Jose. In Mexico, everything was normal, and people were saying they didn’t think it would spread around the world.
Since the pandemic started our life changed. Many of us have lost our jobs, we have to stay home, worry about going out and getting sick. We have to wear masks everywhere which is very uncomfortable. My brother and his family were planning to come from Texas to visit us, but I am grateful that they didn’t come. I would be very sad if they got sick. I am spending time talking with them by phone, and also with my sisters in Colorado and in Mexico.
I am enjoying every minute with my family, especially my grandchildren, and praying for the COVID-19 to go away.
August 4, 2020
Thoughts Upon Waking in the Middle of the Night
The pandemic is making us react with anger and fear. At home we don’t tolerate each other, there are many divorces and people fighting for money. Sometimes we are afraid, thinking we can die at any moment. We aren’t sure any more, we try to hide from the virus but it is very hard for some of us. We try to stay healthy but we don’t know how. We are like cows, walking and following the rules of the government. We can’t go anywhere, we are stuck, children are stuck at home with us. The government is trying to keep us ignorant, people are dying and also afraid of getting the vaccine.
Submitted by Alicia Caldera, Sonoma County – Sonoma.