The first case of the Coronavirus hit the US in late January. By mid-March, the US economy was essentially shut down except for essential workers.
President Donald Trump, his Administration and the Coronavirus Taskforce, along with recommendations from top infectious disease experts Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Brix instituted a 30-day social distancing and stay at home order to combat the virus.
The stock market plummeted and was in a freefall, losing 3,000 points in one day and multiple 1,000 point days. From a high of 29,551.42 to a low of 18,591.93 it came crashing down over 37%!!!
Personally, I was watching the markets fall and the Coronavirus cases and death tolls rise, and I was panicking about the repercussions.
Nicole and I have saved and sacrificed for so many years so we could get ahead and provide a future for our boys. Could we possibly lose our life savings, my 26 year old VIPTIX business and have Nicole lose her job, all in one swoop???
Nicole is the Travel Director for Benderson Development, Buffalo Lodging & Delta Sonic Companies and travel grinded to a halt. Thankfully, Nicole is still getting a paycheck! She works for the very generous Benderson Family. They have decided not to furlough any of their employees during all of this like many organizations have done.
Nicole has always worked remotely. She loves working from home where she has found she is most productive. Nicole volunteered to help in any department and she is one heck of a hard-working, detailed and beyond loyal employee.
As the days turned into weeks and then a month, Nicole and I started looking inward at what we could control and leaning on one another like we always have in maroutine maddening tough situations. It took the boys just a couple weeks to get their schoolwork down.
There was absolutely NOTHING scheduled on our April calendar.
What we all started to realize was that the days were flying by! The Giammusso’s were quickly adjusting to their new normal. What we realized was that there was actually a lot of beauty in all of this.
Life has slowed down. There are no soccer games or practices to rush to after school. No long soccer weekend getaways where our family would be split apart. We enjoy our crazy soccer life but it’s also refreshing and beautiful to take a pause.
Our new normal has consisted of walking 5-8 miles per day to Clarence Center Coffee or to Toasted for a cappuccino. We haven’t been eating out or ordering takeout much at all. We order pizza and wings once a week for a special treat. We have been eating healthy, exercising regularly and losing weight because of it.
We have been enjoying one another’s company. We are all present. We are helping the boys with their schoolwork. We play Chess, Checkers, Monopoly and video games too. We have watched movies together. Nicole has been in her glory making homemade meals. I have made my Mother proud by making homemade pizza and bread.
Our Family all over Italy have all been in quarantine too. We have family in Milan, Parma, Rome, Bologna, Lamezia Terme, Calabria and there are a lot in Campobello di Licata in Sicily. We have been having weekly Zoom group video chats with all of them. We learned that Dr. Anthony Fauci’s ancestral family comes from a small fishing town, Sciacca, in Sicily where Nicole’s Uncle, Zio Cristoforo and his family reside. If you look at a can of quality Sardines, chances are it came from Sciacca.
We have truly connected more deeply as a family. That’s the silver lining during these dark uncertain days. When we look back on this period of time in history, we will recount the stories of being scared for our health and for our well being of family and friends and how terrified we were of the ripple effects that our US economy was shut down.
But this family will also tell its’ tales of how peaceful and beautiful life became. For now, The G’s are enjoying and embracing the simplicity of their new normal.
We have found our Coronavirus Silver Lining!
NICK GIAMMUSSO 