Week 19 - A Whole New World

This week brought change no one could have truly anticipated. We'll start with the photo, above. We have spent the past few months training for a 5k event that was scheduled to take place on Saturday. Due to the coronavirus precautions, the event was cancelled. This was disappointing for our group, since we had all worked so hard to accomplish this goal. So, we decided to gather together (in a group of 10 or less!) to complete the challenge, all the same. Some of us accidentally put in more than 5k, but we all had a great time on a brisk Michigan March morning. We enjoyed fellowship and food before retreating to our homes for the weekend.

The hotels have been knocked out at the knees. We were on track for a record breaking March, but all of that has come to a screeching halt as businesses and individuals heed government precautions to avoid travel and gathering in groups. Last Thursday, we held an emergency meeting to brainstorm cost saving measures. Hourly associates had their hours slashed for this week's schedule, with effectively no notice. On Sunday, Kiersten spent several hours collaborating with Dan on a new plan, as we realized how drastic the situation was becoming. On Monday, we announced to managers that all salaried individuals were reduced to a 3-day work week - 40% of pay gone with almost no notice. By Thursday, we sat down for a very real, very heavy conversation about the unfortunate next step, the step we had hoped we could avoid but now realized was inevitable; we made a list of just 25 names that would survive the layoff. 25 down from 115. It isn't really clear if the emotional break down that night was due to pregnancy hormones or if it, too, was inevitable.

In the other half of our duo, Ben has found himself in a step upwards. The head coach for e-sports resigned, without notice, and Ben has eagerly accepted the university's offer for him to fill in as interim head coach. He started this week by submitting his 2-week notice for his para-pro job. By the week's end, we found out it would be his last week, as the governor announced the closing of all public schools, effectively immediately.

We could never have imagined what our reality would look like, even 1 week ago. Uncertainty hangs in the air. Right now, we have no idea what world this baby is coming into.