I don’t remember much, I was too young to really understand it all. I know thirteen-year-old me would’ve said otherwise, that I did know what was happening, that I was smart and independent. I saw the stories online, read the news articles. I don’t think anyone understood, not really, what we were all about to experience – what we were all about to lose.

I remember my parents arguing, listening in that way that all children do, quiet at the top of the stairs. That night though, they weren’t throwing around accusations about late nights or maxed out credit cards. They were arguing about leaving. Should we stay or go, stick with our neighbors and barricade the cul de sac, or grab all our stuff and hit the road, head someplace secluded until there was a vaccine or it all blew over.

Nobody knew what to do, were we safer in the cities, with law enforcement and hospitals? Or were we safer in the country, away from other people, away from all the chaos. Mom joked that it would be a great time to see Yosemite.