Sometimes we can forget that the world is bigger than just our own life we are living.

Having friends and family scattered around the country and also knowing people that travel a lot gives us a look at how this pandemic could be and may be a lot worse before it is over.

A text just a few minutes ago announced that public schools in Virginia have started closing for the year. Immediately behind that another post informs that Leander, Texas, (suburb of Austin) public schools were set to end spring break today but instead will start home schooling procedures on Tuesday.

Some parents and families are dealing with this as quality family time while others are not enjoying it at all.

Most parents truly celebrate the first day of school each year and the time off from the kids. This is home time that no one planned to have.

World travel is also shut down so that long awaited trip to Poland — your father’s homeland — is not to be this year or at least not in April.

Myrtle Beach golf was already canceled and even Easter weekend with family in New York has been ruled out. The ski resorts which would be close to wrapping up their season have been closed for a couple of weeks, and they will most likely lose money for the year.

Golf course business should be about to explode. One course in our area got new owners over the winter, and they have no idea when or if they will open for 2020. The other courses can only be thankful this is happening now and not in peak season of June and July.

This is also typically the time of year for college-age students to seek summer employment.

This year they may be behind tens of thousands of men and women who jobs were lost to COVID-19. There also may be a lack of space for incoming freshmen to join the ranks of underclassmen because of students who were unable to complete course work to graduate this year.

Someone else had a longtime dream of serving in the Peace Corps fall apart just months into their assignment because of the virus.

So if you find yourself watching Christmas movies on Hallmark tonight and wondering who disrupted your world; you are not alone and it can get worse.

In fact it probably will get worse before it gets better.

— RV