The first night was probably the hardest. Those of you with kids, especially those under 10, know how hard it is to get them to sleep in a hotel room. There's just too much excitement. It was probably 11:00 before all the kids were asleep. I crashed with them, but new sleeping arrangements provided many fitful sleepers. Jonathan and I were probably up together from two to four AM stressing about everything. Should we go home and clean up? Did we do the right thing, not getting second opinions? How are we going to pay for this? How long should we stay at the hotel? It was a long anxious, sleepless night.
The kids were up bright and early that first Monday morning. Did I mention our first full day in the hotel was also a busy work day for me? My employer, a bank, is an essential service. My work didn't stop. Instead it accelerated. We started preparing for upcoming changes while not yet feeling the economic impacts of the soon to be named "Great Lockdown". I was right in the middle of launching an 18 month long project that, as of now, is not expected to see the light of day for a long, long time.
They wanted breakfast, they wanted the pool, they wanted to explore, they wanted all the things. Honestly a month later, I'm trying to remember all the details but I think my brain is protecting me from remembering all the anxiety inducing aspects. I do remember the grace my friends and family showed and shared with me.
I worked. The kids swam. Joe ignored nap time. Jonathan managed the construction site at home. The dog came and went from the hotel. And I worked some more. I had conference calls from the pool, from the room, and pacing the hallways just trying not to get locked out of the hotel room (which did happen).
The staff was amazing, and became our hotel family. They tried to maintain all their normal services while maintaining social distancing restrictions. The morning breakfast was limited to danishes, fruit and coffee/juice. The eating area was closed off, but since we were almost the ONLY guests, they let us pull the chairs down and sit at a table like a normal family.
One of the perks they offered was a daily happy hour with wine and snacks. They graciously called us in our room to let us know when the cookies were warm from the oven, dubbing one of the employees forever in our hearts, "the cookie lady".
Still at the end of March, getting outside was only an option for one of those rare spring Ohio days. We rejoiced in the sunshine and walked around the commercial park on a rock hunt.
We were at the hotel from Sunday, March 22nd through Thursday March 26th. I wish could say that weekend was one of celebration, but instead we had two weeks of laundry, a sink full of dishes and muddy floors from many construction boots in and out of basement.
It also took a while for me to gain some control over my anxiety, given that huge expenses are usually a personal trigger.
I am so thankful that Jonathan handled all the construction logistics, negotiations and worked with ALL the subcontractors that were involved. He made sure all of the details were taken care of, the job was done well and the basement was SANITIZED. I know he probably doesn't know how much I appreciated it, considering I was losing my mind and yelling at him that he was running away from the hotel.That was me deflecting because I WANTED TO RUN AWAY. Being trapped in a hotel is NOT FUN.
I really do think the kids will remember it more as spring break and swimming, even if my memory is stunted due to the amount of my own anxiety and pressure. So now, we're back home and have been for a month. What does that look like? Well I'll need an entire new post to share my thoughts, reactions and opinions on how we are 'handling' this....
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