At first, we washed our hands longer. We stopped hugging. We started working from home, if we were lucky enough to still have jobs, and tried to stay productive. We kept our kids occupied before and after distance learning. We video chatted for happy hours. We learned about all the ways to use canned beans. We sewed masks from whatever textiles we could grab. We found new ways to celebrate milestones, and new ways to mourn. We adapted, because adaptation is an intrinsically human trait — it’s how we’re here to begin with.

• • •

With almost all their upcoming gigs canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus, Mark Etherington, a.k.a. Mountain Holler, and Jun Bustamante perform for an audience of one — Etherington’s dog, Cherokee — as they rehearse in Etherington’s St. Petersburg apartment on March 20.

— Jay Cridlin, Tampa Bay Times

• • •

Joel Santos Gonzalez learned the importance of routine during isolation a few years ago, he said, when he went through quarantine after a stem cell transplant, one of the treatments he tried after being diagnosed with lymphoma. So when his classes shifted online in March, “dressing up seemed like a good way to keep the work routine going.” He sent this selfie to friends, joking that, “Yes, I am one of those weirdos who dresses up to work from home.”

— Submitted by Joel Santos Gonzalez, Hudson

• • •

Susan Davis of St. Petersburg said she didn’t want to risk going to the store to buy a card to send to her daughter in Tennessee for her 25th birthday. So she adapted a spare Christmas card she had. “Though the card is for Christmas, the sentiment is the same,” she said.

— Submitted by Susan Davis, St. Petersburg

• • •

Five-year-old Ruby attends her A&G Dance Academy class via Zoom, from home in St. Petersburg. Her mother, Julie Richey, said Ruby missed seeing and hugging her friends, but she quickly adjusted to the remote lessons and was excited to use the video platform to show her teacher and classmates around her house.

— Submitted by Julie Richey, St. Petersburg

• • •

Robert Crandall and Elise Crosby were supposed to get married in March at Largo Central Park. Forced to cancel, they instead said their vows — inspired by feminist writer Bell Hooks’ book “All About Love” and synth-pop band CHVRCHES’ song “Clearest Blue” — at their dining room table. A friend who’s a notary public officiated; Crosby’s 11-year-old daughter was the witness.

— Submitted by Robert Crandall, Largo

• • •

When the state of Florida barred dine-in at local restaurants in March, many began offering carryout cocktails. Intermezzo Coffee and Cocktails in St. Petersburg sold bottled, hand-labeled versions of cocktails, including Negronis, Aperol Spritzes and Palomas.

— Jay Cridlin, Tampa Bay Times

• • •

With children out of school, parents had to recalibrate their lives to keep things seeming normal. Alexandra Ray of Tampa created daily schedules for her son Bergen, 8, and daughter Amelia, 4. Activities included math, reading, crafts, exercise and cooking.

— Submitted by Thomas Ray, Tampa

• • •

Zachary Kopel, 17, a distance swimmer for Freedom High School and the Team Velocity club, measured the pool at home to calculate how many laps would cover a mile — 155, as opposed to 66 in a regulation pool. Here, he swims the whole thing, in time-lapse.

— Submitted by Ellen Kopel, Tampa

• • •

Alex Inskeep of Brooklyn celebrates his 30th birthday with his family in St. Petersburg: parents Gay and Paul Inskeep, brother Andrew Inskeep and grandmother Jean Patterson.

— Submitted by Gay Inskeep, St. Petersburg

• • •

“As an essential employee, I have to be prepared to work. Every. Single. Day. To ensure I am not taking a mask away from a true hero, I made seven. They hang proudly in the laundry room.”

— Submitted by Cecilia Patella, Beverly Hills, Fla.

• • •

Three-year-old Freyja Smith paints an Easter egg to be hung up as part of her neighborhood’s “Easter egg hunt” — a distance-friendly spin on the holiday tradition.

— Submitted by Kelsey Grentzer, St. Petersburg

• • •

“I work from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. while Mac takes care of Diego. Mac works 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. while I take care of Diego.”

— Submitted by Enilda Romero-Hall, McFadden (Mac) Hall and Diego Hall (age 4), Seminole Heights

• • •

While stuck inside with her fiance, Tom Haverkamp — their wedding, originally set for June, has been postponed — Kate Dean made matching his-and-hers face masks from washcloths, ribbon and embroidery floss. “Truthfully, I’m just grateful we were able to quarantine together,” she said.

— Submitted by Kate Dean, Tampa

• • •

Lauren Klinger’s 3-month-old, Leo, FaceTimes with his grandmother during quarantine. “I’m worried that by the time this is all over, he’s going to have such stranger anxiety after being quarantined with just me and his dad for all this time,” she said. “Does he know that his grandma and his tia love him? Or does he think me and his dad are the only two people who exist?”

— Submitted by Lauren Klinger, St. Petersburg

• • •

NEXT:

Anxiety

Brightness

Change

Isolation

Safety

Community

Loss

The Surreal

Hope

For all the stories in the series, click here.