Well, it's happened. I've entered a new decade. On March 15, 2020 I turned 60 years old and that is about the exact date that the U.S. began to get very concerned about the corona virus.
My birthday was on a Sunday and the week before was when we really began to hear a lot about the corona virus hitting the United States and Pennsylvania had their first confirmed cases of it. Events began to be cancelled and we started to hear rumors of a mass shutdown of nonessential businesses. By Sunday, people were beginning to shy away from restaurants and we had heard that dine-in eating would soon not be allowed.
We had decided to go to Oregon Dairy to celebrate my birthday. As the weekend approached, more and more businesses were shutting down. Jay's family was going to take me to the Turkey Hill Experience but that closed. Nevertheless, Oregon Dairy was still open for business so we went as planned. It felt pretty eerie, because there was maybe 10 other people in the restaurant besides us. It was obvious that they would not be open for sit down eating for much longer. As a matter of fact, the very next day, they changed to take-out only.
However, we went and had a great time. There is a wonderful outdoor playground there and the children enjoyed playing on it before and after the meal. We had delicious food and I enjoyed a huge slice of carrot cake for dessert. I didn't take many pictures but did want to get one of me and the grandkids. Kristen obliged by taking some for me. We gathered together in a booth and she just kept snapping. Below is a sampling of how difficult it is to get 7 children to cooperate and look at the camera, let alone smile at it :)
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| I think this one is the best except Awstin isn't looking and Hannah has her hand over her mouth. Love that Bryce is smiling! |
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| This time Hannah is eating her hair and Awstin still isn't looking |
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| Mark scowls, Lydia pinches her cheeks and Hannah yawns...so good of Alexis and Clara |
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| Of the 7 grandchildren only Alexis is looking :) |
Here are a couple of snapshots while we were sitting at the table.
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| The kids table and Kristen |
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| Adult table. I only managed to get Steve's hands on :( |
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| And of course, the little cutie pie! |
As I write this, we are very much dealing with the corona virus in every aspect of our lives. The New Hope office is closed so I am not working there but the store has been so incredibly busy and I am putting in a lot of hours there. Everyone is supposed to stay home and only go out for necessities so we can stop the spread of the virus. So, while many people are home and trying to find things to do that is not the case for us, as we work hard to keep our neighbors supplied with the groceries they need during this time. I pray that this will pass quickly but I'm thinking that is probably wishful thinking.
Now that I've put it on my blog, I guess it is official. I am 60 years old. What will this next decade bring into my life? It may not be starting out very well, but I am optimistic that the next 10 years will be better than the last several years have been. I think I may even find that I like being 60! I'm thanking God for life.
