MACON, Ga. — Janae Reuwer says she began writing down her thoughts at the beginning of the pandemic.
"By the second week of March, it started to get scarier," she said as she read from her journal. "States were starting to close their borders and some school districts were closing."
John Smith says he's journaled his whole life off and on.
"It's a strange thing to be happy about finding tissue and paper towels, but that's the world were living in today," he said.
John and Janae are two different voices but both writing down their day-to-day experiences in a time when the world looks and feels different.
"I didn't get my classroom cleared out, and all of a sudden, we had to learn how to teach in a Google classroom format," Janae recalled.
Janae wrote that she quickly learned how to teach online.
But coronavirus did rob her of something more personal. She and her husband Tim were supposed to have a wedding last month.
"I've dedicated so much time passion and a million other emotions planning, and it's literally crashing down around us. The guilt is enormous," she said as she read from her journal.
"I'm taking care of my mom at this time. She can't go out because of her health," John said.
John says he can get the heavy issues like worrying about family out on paper.
He says it helps him wrap his head around surreal situations.
"When I do go out and I see a friend, a family member in public and you're not able to go up to them and talk to them, it's a weird experience," he said.
But folks like Janae and John say they are leaving a record for the future, and that includes the good things in life.
"On another note, I've discovered I'm an awesome landscaper and can dig out weeds like a champ," she said.
"I live in a small community, but then really seeing the community reaching out and helping each other," John said.
Journaling is a simple act of gauging where you are in a day, in a time like no other.
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