To be very clear: This was the right decision. I am firmly in the camp of reducing the spread of the disease until there is a realistic treatment and/or vaccine. I understand we are extremely privileged to have jobs with organizations that do not need to shut down, live in a place with access to the outdoors, and have access to healthcare if we need it. I understand the impacts we will feel will be minimal compared to those that don't share our privilege and I understand how those differing impacts can shape our beliefs. For us, lockdown is an inconvenience and disruption. For others it could mean an end to their way of life that will have lasting implications. The challenge we face is finding balance. Don't ask me how to find that balance. I don't know.

What I do know is with the lockdown came closure of virtually all the public lands we use as part of our outdoor life. Like most people, we rarely left our home. The trail where the kids were raised closed. The National Forests where our most epic adventures often took place were closed. The National Parks that are the crown jewels of our state were closed. The only thing that remained open were the county parks and long trails. So we started riding our bikes.

Unfortunately, the difficulty in finding balance isn't the sole responsibility of government. A six mile ride became a 12 mile ride became a 16 mile ride became a 25 mile ride. Within a week. It was the first time I had ridden in two years. It went as expected. Lower back pain bordering on the need for more than ibuprofen. Not good. The country trails closed shortly thereafter.

With all avenues even close to "normal" life closed off, we started doing other things. There was some good weather, so we worked in the yard. A lot. The greenhouse was finally planted. We built a bed for raspberries and have great hopes for the future. Everything got weeded. The lawn got cut. I revealed I'm a terrible farmer because I keep checking the plants to see if it's time to harvest. GROW, DANGIT!

We watched the all 11 Star Wars movies in story order. Yes, that meant we had to start with The Phantom Menace. On the upside, it only got better from there. We finished on May the 4th. Now we're watching all the Marvel movies in story order. Oof. Those early Thor movies. And the Hulk? Yikes.

We ate and ate and ate. I finally figured out how to make decent rice in the Instant Pot (der, rinse it first) and we've cleared out a lot of older food from the pantry.

We played games. We did online scavenger hunts. We worked an awful lot. More than if we'd still been going to work. The lack of structure and adventure on the weekends left me looking forward to the work week with its tasks and meetings. I like work and all, but that's not right.

I dabbled in ecommerce with the release of both a fine-art photography store at https://moosefish.zenfolio.com and silly t-shirts at https://moosefish.threadless.com. If you're wondering, I'm not quitting my day job any time soon. (BTW: Prints from Zenfolio are reported to be very high quality. I'm still waiting for my samples from Threadless.)

And if I didn't mention the video happy hours complete with terrible, homemade drinks (i.e., "Bucket") it wouldn't be honest. Nor the nights when I couldn't sleep or do much more than shuffle around the house aimlessly.

I think we'd found a good balance in our lives before this whole thing began. I don't see us regaining that balance until it's all over. Some of the trails have reopened and it's not as bad an idea to go adventuring. Given the incredible overcrowding and the coming good weather, it's a good idea to think hard about where and when you go outside. We've been dipping our toes in still-frozen lakes and getting soaked in early morning downpours. Sometimes both at the same time.

For those who are truly suffering through this time, I wholeheartedly wish for a miracle cure or an effective treatment. Science says it won't happen, but science has been wrong before and it doesn't hurt to hope as long as it doesn't push us to make mistakes. Mask up, wash your hands, and stay healthy.