At the beginning of this year, none of us could have imagined how COVID-19 would impact our daily lives. I remember hearing about the novel Coronavirus in January, a mysterious virus that was spreading in Wuhan, China. Though there were few known cases of COVID-19 in the United States in January, late in the month when my grandmother developed a cough I worried about her. “What if it’s the Coronavirus?” I asked her. She responded, “Britton, if you are worried about the Coronavirus, you are even more paranoid than I thought.” We laughed about my worries, but I remained careful. I didn’t eat the shared dishes at the Oscars party I attended at the beginning of February, I washed my hands vigorously before eating tacos…

Have you noticed there are more commercials on television these days promoting the benefits of protecting your home from gutter leaks? You will now that I have called your attention to it.

What I find interesting about these advertisements is their focal point. It became clear to me – almost immediately – that they were not referencing how dried leaves backup in gutters and can clog up the downspout. Water then builds up and backs up until it freezes. Then the fun begins. Ice creeps up the roof and soon, with the sun and the warmth coming from inside your home, the ice melts and find its way into the under layers of your roof, and down into your ceiling.

These ads do not mention the damage…