I suppose one could say
"time flies when we are having fun?"
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| Crazy Yard art-Cudahy WI March 2020 |
I went to bed last night thinking- "I should probably blog about the first couple of weeks of this crisis." So, this morning, as I counted the weeks, I realized instead of 2 weeks, we have now got 3 weeks were the daily plan has involved staying close to home, first by recommendation, and now by governor's mandate.
I've struggled with how to journal during this time. At times, it feels like we are all living the "real life" experience of Bill Murray in Groundhog day- same stuff, different day.
But yet, if I don't pause and reflect, will this time just all blur into one big blob of a "
that time we all stayed home in order to stay well?" I suspect even with a blog (or 2) updates- that blur will occur, but at least for today-I"m going to try and pause and take note of all the good that is occurring while we wait for the storm to pass.
SAW-HEARD-DID
SAW: In these days of staying home, I feel like seeing really means watching- and for sure Thing 1 and I have watched a lot of TV- be it binge watching a series to watching a movie. And just when I thought we had too many choices, the industry responded by providing free access to even more streaming services like Acorn TV (British programming), Showtime and Starz. Oh my- so many choices.
Some of our favorites have included The Ladies in Black (Amazon Prime)- which is an Australian ensemble piece set in 1959 at a department store. Charming and tender as the various characters navigate their way through the changing times. We've also enjoyed Good Girls (Netflix and NBC for current season) and just last night we watched Unorthodox on Netflix.
We are enjoying exploring Acorn TV and caught a few episodes of a quirky mystery called Agatha Raisin- but after a few episodes we agreed it was a bit too sweet for even our very sweet tooth when it comes to movies. I think I need to do a bit more research on what to watch on Acorn.
I've also been seeing a lot of my friends-granted it's almost exclusively through video chat-but hey, it really has helped to see, laugh and connect with those who play an important part in my sanity.
Last Sunday- while on my walk-I was super excited to see my friend and her family on their walk. Unfortunately, we couldn't walk and talk like we did pre-quarantine- but it was reassuring to give a quick shout out across the street and just make that human-to-human connection.
HEARD: The echo of silence? This house of 1800 sq. feet sure gets quiet with just myself and Thing 1.
Thing 2 has decided to stay downtown in his apartment. It isn't connected with the university, so we are still paying rent- and he has a part-time job as a nursing assistant that is only a few blocks from his apartment.
Doesn't really make sense for him to come home. I did make one trip downtown with critical supplies- toilet paper and ramen- two items that at the time were difficult to locate in the grocery stores near him. But even with that "home delivery" we kept our visit brief and limited our contact (he's working with highly vulnerable population and yet given his youth, likely would fit in the category of mild-to-moderate amount of illness if he does catch it).
Hubby remains out in the desert- and no- I don't feel he needs to head home to keep us company. I'm very happy that he is able to continue to do his thing and stay in compliance with orders to socially distance. And well, have you seen his pictures? Yeah- way better views than the 4 walls of
House of Chang Sloth Manor.
DID- When the crisis all started to unfold, the first thing area school districts did was to either start or extend Spring Breaks. This extension meant we were all sent home. Week 1 was our previously planned Spring Break- and with a big camping adventure planned for Summer 2020 (now in limbo as to whether we will proceed with our plans), I had a pretty open calendar. From an emotional standpoint- it was nice not to have cancel any planned trip- like a few of my friends from work found themselves doing.
It became apparent rather quickly that I needed to set up a routine-if just for the sake of my sanity and my waistline.
Lots of memes out there with messages about the self-care part of isolation. This one really spoke the loudest to me.
I started to set my alarm, shower, and tackle some projects- you know those ones where you think "some day I'll work on"...well, some day has arrived and so while we watched movies, Thing 1 helped me sort-sift-and pitch tubs of lego parts.
I dug out a needlepoint project that has sat by my reading chair for several years and finished up the last little bits. From there, I started and finished a 2nd project.
This past week- we resumed working and my week was busy as I learned how to be a school nurse while working from home. What does that look like? Lots of meeting, lots of "digital clean up" of outdated forms and files and just reaching out to our students to assist with any health needs they may have.
I did help out my building team with tech distribution- and it was interesting to watch the process unfold. I felt a bit like an escapee- being out, interacting with others-while gloved-masked-and maintaining social distance. As soon as the event was over, I scurried back to the comforts of home.
It remains to be seen how long this quarantine will remain in effect. My nurse brain says probably later in April, we will see some lifting of restrictions. I worry, though, that a 2nd wave will come crashing in, as all of us who have been in a little protective bubble start to interact with others. But, as have told myself many times through the years.. today's plate is full enough, no use in putting tomorrow's worry on it as well.
Until then...take a walk, enjoy the sunshine, and just remember to always wash your hands!
Like other tourist-train rides, the conductor was a fountain of information-both on the history of the region (who knew that Leadville missed out on becoming the state capital by just 2 votes?), the vegetation (who knew that the reason the pine beetle didn't infect this area is because of the higher humidity?) and animal inhabitants (Supposedly the area is popular with deer, elk, and even an occasional mountain lion has been spotted on the route). 
