3 Years Ago, We Went Through Crazy Times

Last Updated on December 2, 2024

My Facebook feed has been filled with friends sharing memories from 3 years ago when the world shut down, and looking back on it, all I can do is laugh, cry, and shake my head. We had no idea the crazy we’d be facing. Slow the curve. That was our initial mantra. If we all just stay home for 2 weeks, Things will go back to normal next month. Let’s have cocktails in the driveway! We’ll sit six feet apart! Brilliant. Here are some good, bad, and crazy memories of Covid 3 years ago. I’d love for you to share your memories with me in the comment section below.

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In February 2020, before a speaking event at the Design Influencers Conference in San Fransisco, I was incredibly sick with a cold that knocked me on my ass. Three weeks in and unable to shake it, so I made an appointment to see my GP. I needed to get miraculously better before my presentation. My doctor walked in wearing a full hazmat suit and told me that my skin looked gray. She prescribed me meds and told me to stay safe.

Do you think I might have the Corona? The Boy’s answer, “No, don’t be silly. You’re overreacting.”

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On March 1, still coughing but chalked it up to a sinus infection. I boarded the plane. A few passengers on the flight to San Fran wore surgical masks, and the gentleman beside me wiped down his seat before settling in. All this seems normal now, but at the time, it felt a bit aggressive. At the conference, none of us knew how to interact with each other. Some bumped elbows while others said screw it, hug me. The company swag was branded hand sanitizer.

My final trip before lockdown was to Atlanta. March 10, 2020, had similar mask sightings like San Fran (I had finally kicked that awful cold), but during my stay, the local news was filled with stories about school closings, bus drivers testing positive for Covid, and how to prepare for a possible statewide lockdown. Wait, wut?

This was very different news coverage compared to Chicago. Illinois had only one positive case (probably a lot more and that awful cold that kicked my ass, ya, everything tasted weird—but we didn’t know about that side effect yet), and that person was quarantined in a hospital (the next town over). No reason to panic.

My final normal evening before the world shut down was spent with my sweet, talented friend Michel Smith Boyd. We enjoyed dinner and chatted all things design at Tiny Lou’s. Afterward, I dragged him into the Clermont Lounge for a PBR. Julia Buckingham told me it was a must-visit venue, but I was to chicken to walk in alone. Yup, I went out with a banger night at a strip club. How many folks can say they spent their last pre-lockdown night in one Time’s strangest strip clubs with a future HGTV star? It was epic, monumental, hilarious, and very me.

It was during my return flight home that I knew something was really wrong. On March 12th, I walked into the Atlanta airport, it was a ghost town. There were more TSA employees in security than folks in line. Eerie is the only word I can think of to explain the feeling.

On March 13th, the governor of Illinois and Mayor Lightfoot threatened to shut down the bars in Illinois for St. Patty’s Day. Stay home. Flatten the curve. Don’t kill grandma. In a matter of days, my life went from gallivanting across the US for social media speaking events and partying with friends to sitting inside my home, wondering if the world would ever be normal again.

I popped into Trader Joe’s, and REM’s It’s The End Of The World As We Know It song was playing on repeat.

Welcome To Camp Covid

Since The Boy and I have worked from home for years, we already had separate home office setups, and we had more than enough space for the kids to have work areas for school—during lockdown, I referred to our home as Camp Covid and documented the days on Facebook.

Thankfully, the whole shelter-in-place ordeal did not disrupt our normal daily work lives. It was more or less like having the kids home for an extended spring break. Obviously, that was not the case for most families I know. Distance learning was a complete and utter disaster. We were very lucky. My kids, on the other hand, suffered mentally. Their entire worlds were flipped upside down.

Lockdown Moments Etched Into My Brain

Distance learning gym class was pajama optional.

The little one helped me work and became my styling apprentice for photoshoots.

I participated in the One Room Challenge in the Spring of 2020 as an ORC Featured Designer. It was so stressful because no one was working and no one was delivering furniture. But by the grace of god, I finished it!

We spent a lot of time outside and found a small bubble of friends.

11 Things Covid Lockdown Taught Me

A lot has happened over the last 3 years. Many life lessons were learned. Here are 11 things my time at Camp Covid taught me.

1. Know who your true friends are—the ones you can text at a moment’s notice for support. Treat them with kindness, and do not judge them.
2. I will never not have a surplus of toilet paper and disinfectant wipes at the house.

3. Find a happy medium in your calendar. Schedule time to slow down and be thankful for every vacation and night out on the town.

4. If your high school friend offers virtual guitar lessons for your kids, take him up on it—shoutout to Corey Mineard.

BTDubs, this is Corey playing guitar (not tambourine guy). He’s a legit rockstar, and if you live in the Baraboo, WI area and want music lessons, he’s got the HOH stamp of approval.

5. Appreciate every gathering with family and friends and make time for family game night.

6. Take care of your mental health and your kids’ mental health. Take the time to ask the people you love, “how are you?” because it can be impossible to know if someone is silently suffering. Also, virtual reiki healing with Lisa Thiele is AHHHHHMAZING for the mind, body, and soul—shoutout to Lisa for helping me.

7. Don’t put off outings because you’re tired and would rather veg on the couch. Make time to go to the art museum. If you want to take your kids to Disney, book that vacation.

8. Disco lights make driveway drinks a lot more fun.

9. Thank a teacher because they are saints for what they’ve endured over the last few years.

10. If you see someone still wearing a mask, it’s okay. Don’t ridicule them. They aren’t hurting you. Leave them alone. The Covid experience is like tubing along a river; not everyone is as far down the river as you might be.

11. Not everything is politically motivated. If someone disagrees with you, it may not have anything to do with Trump or Biden. Stop throwing insult cards around on social media. This isn’t a game of UNO. Put that card back. It gets you nowhere, and you wind up looking like a jerk.

11 Weird Things That Happened During Covid Lockdown

Here are 11 incredibly weird things that happened in 2020 that you may have forgotten about.

1. We were all obsessed with Tiger King. Joe Exotic and Carol Baskins brought the world together,

2. Murder hornets made their way to the US.

3. D Nice opened Club Quarantine and would spin records in 9 hours stretches. House music all night long. According to my camera roll, I rolled into the party on the evening of March 21, 2020, right before Alicia Keys and Usher arrived.

4. Australia was on fire, as were California and India.

5. On August 26, 2020, Macaulay Culkin tweeted that he had turned 40. We collectively felt very old.

Hey guys, wanna feel old?

I'm 40.

You're welcome.

— Macaulay Culkin (@IncredibleCulk) August 26, 2020

6. The government threatened to ban TikTok—ya, that’s still happening today.

7. Kanye announced his run for presidency. Who knew that would be one of his least crazy stunts?

8. We were texting each other a link for a new website alerting us of a nearby high-risk area. Upon clicking the link, we were greeted by this well-endowed man. I was suckered into opening big boy’s photos on multiple occasions (I still have a few friends zing me with this dude). The pranks made me cackle and brought a smidgen of joy during those dark times. Thank you sir.

9. The pentagon released footage of UFOs, but the American public was unphased. We were too traumatized with everything else to care about alien sightings.

10. Remember the birthday drive-by car parades? Kids hanging out the sunroof waving hello to the classmates they missed so much.

11. Monoliths appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared just as mysteriously. Was it the work of aliens?

So now it’s your turn! I’d love to hear some of your good and funny quarantine lockdown stories. Hit me with it in the comments below.

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