In a year easy to complain, Reyes looks at bright side
For Jason Reyes, living during a global pandemic has made him appreciate smaller, everyday joys more.
“I still feel like we’re fortunate,” he said. “We’re healthy. I’m able to still work. Thankful is still the best answer.”
Dec. 27 was the third anniversary of his
This year “started off pretty good and then obviously COVID hit,” Reyes, 38, of Hobart, said.
With a weakened immune system, on doctor’s orders he went on leave from his job at the steel mill for 4½ months, returning to work in August.
“Everything was so uncertain and no one knew anything,” Reyes said of the public health crisis. “My doctor felt it was safer for me to be at home more than anything else.”
He and longtime partner Susan Jorden had planned to get married in early April. Plan A was to have a judge come to their house. Around that time, the courts shut down.
So, they waited. By August, virus cases were rising again.
“I said, ‘Well, let’s just go tomorrow,’ ” he said.
The next day, they went to the Lake County Courthouse in Crown Point. On Facebook, he posted pictures, including a selfie with their masks, another wearing their new wedding rings. It was less about the money and more about being married.
“It felt like it was perfect for us,” he said.
He went back to work a few days later.
This year, his wife Susan, a Griffith teacher, has been doing both in-person and virtual teaching, which is stressful, he said. Like anyone, there’s also worries that she could bring the virus home.
“She does all she can,” he said. “Obviously, nobody is 100% safe being around other people. Anywhere we do go, we wear masks everywhere, even if it’s just to visit family.”
A few months ago, he and two childhood friends made a difficult decision to cancel this year’s People’s Turkey Drive in East Chicago, in its 10th year. In 2019, they handed out more than 800 Thanksgiving dinners. With the pandemic, they felt it was too risky for their 150-200 volunteers and their own health. They plan to regroup next year, he said.
Just before the holidays, his son, Andrew, 16, was hospitalized for a few days in Chicago, and has since recovered. He is in driver’s education, with a few months until he gets his license, trying to convince his dad to give him his truck. Always a “go by the rules type of kid,” his son is a good driver, Reyes said.
“It’s an ‘I’m getting old type’ of reality check,” he said.
Earlier, they made a decision to keep Andrew home with virtual learning, before he later returned to school. In October, his son lettered in academics, earning his letterman jacket, Reyes said with pride.
Like other parents, he gets several updates weekly on COVID-19 cases from school.
“It’s just stressful every time I get an email from Valparaiso public schools,” he said. “You never know how close he was to somebody that had it.”
Despite those bumps, Reyes said they have taken the year as it comes, grateful for everything that has led them to where they are. He, his wife, and son planned a quiet Christmas at home, with prime rib, potatoes and asparagus.
The pandemic has made him appreciate being at home more, bringing his family closer together, which isn’t the case for everyone. He loves to travel, but their October vacation to Nashville was canceled.
“I think, I still kinda feel like with everything that has happened and everything we’ve been through, I still feel things could be worse,” he said.
“I’m still thankful for everything happening in my life, all the way around, it has me where I am now,” Reyes said. “That includes everything that happened, including the kidney disease.”
“I am exactly where I’m supposed to be,” he said.
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