It was finally warm outside. The sun blinked through the windows, as it really only did in March and December. Most of the time the leaves on the trees around the house were too heavy; warm window light was rare, and particularly sweet after the winter rains that always wash Georgia between January and March.
Surreal was the word everybody seemed to use. Every time I looked at my phone there was another email or text message. No doctor appointments. School is closed until further notice. No libraries or swim lessons. Church is virtual.
Until further notice.
There was an element of excitement at first. The thrill of the unknown. The unexpected blessing of obligations disappearing and leaving us to rest. What better excuse, right? “Sorry, with everything going on…”
My almost three year old trotted into the room.
“Mommy, we can go to Costco?”
“No, baby, but look! It isn’t raining. We can play outside today.”
“Mommy, I want to go to Home Depot.”
“Not today, baby.”
“Mommy’s gonna drive to the doctor?”
“No, not to today.”
Something about a toddler begging to go to the doctor to get out of the house stuck with me. After a couple weeks he stopped asking.
We started building in YouTube exercise time. Cosmic Kids Yoga and family walks. I made everyone eat a lot of veggies and turn off the TV. I elbow bumped a neighbor I hadn’t met before in front of the house. Because handshakes are dangerous now. I instantly felt like a complete idiot. We both tried to laugh it off. To maintain a normal that doesn’t exist right now.
So I plant things in the yard. There’s a collective sense of duty to use the time “well” – enjoy the shift from the grind. We all wanted to get things done at home, right? I’m wearing everyone else out, but I’m kind of okay with it. Jude goes to bed every night exhausted from being outside all day.
I got toilet paper from Publix today. People line up outside the store in the mornings now – 6 feet apart, standing on the X. We are herded in like sheep, pushing our sanitized carts to pick up our 1-2 allotted packs of paper products.
I went to three stores to find meat. When I found some chicken, I texted friends to see who needed it. Neighbors are sharing supply updates as they locate scarce items. An old friend posted on Facebook that she bought a pack of toilet paper on eBay for $100.
I briefly wonder if it’s as bad as people think. I do this a hundred times a day.
It’s been about 3 weeks since this whole thing started, and it feels worse today than it did. Maybe reality is starting to set in a little bit. The novelty of a couple weeks at home is gone. The two week time limit they promised is out the window and it looks like we’re here for the duration.
Jason’s 40th birthday is tomorrow. I started saving 3 years ago to bring all of us to Australia. When we found out Evie was coming, we scaled back. Bringing an 8 week old across the world felt ill advised, even before the pandemic. So I planned a trip to Boston – Fenway on opening day.
Now, I can’t even order a present on Amazon. They’ve scaled back to essential items for a while. So, our plan is to get up and decorate for Christmas. Hopefully that will at least make him smile. We can all use some twinkle lights.
I baked more bread than we’ll ever eat. The kids and I drove around and dropped it off with friends. It was nice to be out of the house, if nothing else. Also, baking keeps me busy. Challah and lemon lavender loaves and pretzels and cookies.
Guess we’re offsetting all of the yard work and yoga. It looks like April is canceled. With school being out, May will likely be as well.
Overall we’re doing okay.