I moved to Spokane, Washington, last year in order to be closer to my mother-in-law. My husband Archie, [Chen] an international concert pianist, is an only child and as his ailing mother lives alone, we decided it was time to spend some quality time with her. In retrospect, this was a wise decision given how the year has unfolded.

In January, we were already very concerned about the global spread of coronavirus and went into semi-isolation from Chinese New Year. You simply do whatever it takes to protect those compromised with weakened immunity. Long before it was spoken about, we stopped going to concerts or restaurants, only going to the supermarket once every ten days. We had already begun to stock up on food and emergency supplies.

Spokane is an easy four-hour drive (by American standards) on the other side of the Cascade Mountains, east of Seattle – the epicentre of Covid-19 in the US at that time, and so naturally, we were extremely concerned. By mid-February, weeks before there were any known cases in Spokane, some tough conversations were had with our children, explaining why we were pulling them out of their Youth Symphony Concert; why we needed to put a stop to play dates with friends and why we then kept them home.

Rhona Gouldson with husband Dr Archie Chen at the Piano Academy of Ireland. Photograph by Evan Duning

Our Piano Academy is a Dublin-based business and involves an academic calendar of round-the-clock school cycles, sandwiched with summer festivals and concert performances. It has necessitated a lot of transatlantic commuting in the past. A combination of having a truly brilliant team of teachers and administration in tandem with today’s technology (and a tech-savvy husband!) is the successful recipe. Long before there were any known cases in Ireland, we started to make discreet enquiries regarding our Faculty’s online teaching technology; not wishing to cause panic, but preparing them for the smoothest of transitions to online teaching “just in case”. We were satisfied with our preparation and like sitting ducks – we waited for what seemed an inevitable outcome.

In late February, I was due to travel to Dublin (via Seattle). Having just received my Green Card, I was so looking forward to heading home to see my own elderly mother Sheila, who had received news of a health scare of her own and to hold the Piano Academy of Ireland’s 10th annual National Piano Festival. My sister, whom I hadn’t seen for two years, was due to travel from Qatar to Dublin; we both present the special awards at the Festival in memory of our late father Clive. However, with Seattle having suffered the first US deaths, and the risk of bringing the virus to my mother in Dublin, to our music teachers, students and festival participants and their families and then to turn around and potentially bring it all back here to Archie and his mother, I postponed my flight. In reality, I was just putting off a decision I didn’t want to take.

On March 9, we decided to take matters in our own hands and for the safety of everyone both in Dublin and Spokane, moved the Festival online. While every other event and concert at the time was listed as either cancelled or postponed, we received incredible support for this initiative. Both parents and teachers were thrilled their students still had the chance to show the fruits of their months of labour. And so it was, from one corner of our home in Spokane WA, 5,000 miles away, that the first Irish online music festival was born! We broadcast from Co Tipperary, Dublin, Doha, Qatar and Spokane Washington. I think we created a little bit of magic, during a time of great uncertainty.

When the Taoiseach announced the closure of schools on March 12, within two hours, we had informed everyone with a clear plan, commencing the virtual tuition the very next day, losing no time and the transition has been seamless. In fact, we entered into lockdown breathing a huge sigh of relief! Our children needed the most comforting in those early days, as their worlds adjusted to not seeing their friends and teachers every day. And as we adults began to decompress little by little, and sleep patterns started to settle, it was only then that we realised exactly how much stress we had previously been under. I will say, it has been an extraordinarily peaceful quarantine and although routine has been difficult to maintain, with kids doing online schooling, everyone at home and needing a little more space, somehow we have managed to become extremely relaxed and zen-like.

That was prior to April 11 – the day I took Archie into ER with suspected appendicitis. After a ten minute high speed drive to Spokane Holy Family hospital – on our wedding anniversary – we were greeted by a team of masked doctors. He was scanned, operated upon, with the briefest time in the recovery room and we were back home in under four hours! Though we were incredibly thankful to be home, the week that followed, however, did make us appreciate the aftercare that he would have received had things been normal.

Just south of the Canadian border, Spokane is famous for the great outdoors, with an abundance of stunning lakes and mountains and while the national parks were still open, we enjoyed biking and hiking on and off trails. At home, I have enjoyed music making with the children – sight-reading some lovely violin and piano repertoire has been fun; gardening is something we have all done together; building a fire-pit and barbecuing has been something new; cooking or baking with Grandma on rainy days has been a real treat, on her better days. Surprisingly, evening family TV-time has consisted of binge-watching Little House on the Prairie. As a result, I think for the first time, as city kids, my children dream of us setting up home one day in the wide open countryside, with lots of animals and pianos. Perhaps their dream may become our reality one day…

In retrospect, I can’t help but feel everyone is exactly where they need to be right now – none of our surviving parents is alone, which is deeply important to us. Working remotely and teaching online certainly has given us the flexibility we needed and unbeknownst to us, prepared us for the online transition of the entire school. Although it has profoundly saddened me that I still can’t visit my Mum for the time being – in addition to the risk, getting there will now take minimum 28 hours door-to-door for a massive fee, as the direct Seattle-Dublin flight has now been removed – I am comforted knowing that she has the hands-on help, love and support of my brothers in Dublin, while Archie’s Mum is also surrounded with love.

You do what you can, when you can; one thing we know for sure – love conquers all and when it’s time for souls to meet, no matter the distance, nothing will stand in the way. www.pianoacademy.ie