Hello all!

So many thoughts have been running through my head about the pandemic. Us Jacobsens have been on an extended vacation of sorts and we are thankful for our blessings. We pray daily for our friends and family who are struggling, including our favorite shop owners, salespeople, medical staff, essential workers, hair dressers, masseuses, students, etc. We are so grateful for what feels like a bit of a “break” in our busy schedules and to the earth. We’re seeing clear skies in Seattle as well as beautiful skies from our home on the Columbia River.

The Today Show shared a report on how the pandemic is affecting “Mother Earth”. It made my heart sing to know just what happens when we are able to hit the reset button. My greatest hope is that we will take lessons learned from this crisis and help guide us into a more gentle effect on the earth. Just look at all the benefits of remote working - less traffic, less gas consumption, happier employees, happier families, less office space footprint, happier pets, more exercise, healthier food and lifestyles in general. Now that we know, can’t we keep it up to some degree?

Now, those of you who know me know I love my shopping and my personal care. These “essential” businesses are all but closed up and I miss my friends. In the beginning of the pandemic, I acknowledged with great admiration those stores I frequent who were continuing to pay their employees, and those who have continued to pay them through the extensions. JJill, Nordstroms, Pandora, Free People and many others. Those community small businesses have been on top of making sure their part of the unemployment documentation was complete and have made progress on safety when these businesses will open again. It is the duty of their regular customers to assist when the Governor reopens with a safety plan in place. Buy gift cards to help with the influx of income they will need to start repaying their rents, mortgages and utilities. Reach out and make early appointments so they can use their new procedures to the best of their ability. If they have an online presence, reach out if you need your supplies replenished. Or try new products. We need to gather around them in their time of need.

Which leads me to how the Jacobsen Family has been surviving the pandemic. We are very blessed that both Dave and I have essential jobs and our employers have been committed to keeping us working and safe. Dave’s job has always been one that could be done remotely and we are blessed it was relatively easy to make the transition. His office shut down for several weeks and now only a few front office staffers are rotating time in the office to get essential “in office only” tasks completed. He has been working diligently with his members on pay, benefits, seniority and referring them to companies hiring drivers. The members he represents are very lucky indeed.

King County quickly developed remote working conditions to allow court staff to work from home. The IT Department truly stepped up to move all of us home, providing VPN access and being creative to allow us to continue hearing emergency motions and essential calendars remotely, while working with the clerk’s office to be “on the record” and in open court. Of course, there is nobody in the courtrooms, but conference calls and open conference phones in the courtrooms allow for the court processes to continue. All of this ingenuity is keeping our family working and allowing us to make contributions to our community. It’s also given us time to quiet our lives and be thankful for the small things:

• that I’m not having to homeschool!! (That’s #1. Good lord, that would’ve been a disaster for both them and me.)

• A 12-minute commute to Seattle on the days when I have to be in a courtroom.

• Eating lunch with family.

• NO makeup weeks.

• Jean shorts and Berks as my office attire.

• Home projects completed.

• Working remotely from anywhere …

• Best Buy curbside pick up

• Pauline’s Nail Salon’s mini care packs put out weekly for upkeep

• CWU Film Department for an excellent start to their online Spring quarter

• My friend Leslie who is picking up our overflowing donation pile to bring to her church

• Dave’s time home makes my father-in-law who suffers from Alzheimers feel safe and loved

• More time with my college student when she comes home

• Mid-day time on the patio in the sunshine with my older daughter who lives at home

• More home cooking

• Wild animals returning to our communities and oceans

• Clear skies and cleaner waters

• And just generally having time to laugh and play with family.

Many of our friends and family are not as fortunate and we will continue to pray and use our resources to help where we can. Please know that you are all in our prayers daily and while we do not support the government opening too early and fear daily for one of us contracting this terrible virus, we believe in our faith, our family and our world. We will make it through this as we have during other crises and maybe even come out stronger because of it.

Keep looking forward my friends.