Quarantine Week 2

I finally looked over at the clock. Had I even slept? It was 4 something. OK yes, I had slept some.

And before I can turn over and actually process that there is a reason I’m having a hard time sleeping, the realization of our new reality hits me again, as it does every morning.

This is real. The Coronavirus, quarantine, school closures, business closures, it’s all real.
We won’t be going anywhere today, at least not officially. We will most likely leave the house for a walk or a drive, but no church, no school, no stores, no playgrounds. We’re meeting no one and going no where in particular.

Time. Unlike toilet paper and sanitizer we suddenly find ourselves with an expansive surplus of time spread out before us like the Nebraska farmlands of my childhood. What are we supposed to do with all of it? 

And by the way, how did this even happen? Quickly.

*****

Today is Wednesday March 18, 2020

Friday March 6th I was flying home from Palm Springs, California after a week long conference.
Saturday March 7th we had a house full of family who had come see our daughter’s middle school play. We went as a family that night and it was fantastic.
Sunday March 8th, was my daughter’s last performance and I was volunteering during that performance as well. Most of our family had already left, my in-laws were leaving the next morning.
Monday March 9th I had a meeting after school to about our daughter’s Model UN conference in Columbus that weekend for which I was chaperoning. Everything was a go, no word of cancellation.
Tuesday March 10th, the Model UN conference was canceled.
Wednesday March 11th the WHO declared the Covid-19 a pandemic. I went to Costco that evening and waited in the longest line of my life. The next morning I heard the line was out the door.
Thursday March 12th the governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, became the first governor to cancel school for the entire state.
Friday March 13, was our last day of school and we quietly wondered about our upcoming church activities and Sunday Meetings.
Saturday March 14th church and all other activities were canceled the foreseeable future.
Sunday March 15th My husband wondered if he would have to close his dental practice.
Monday March 16th my husband was canceling all patients past 11AM that day and for the next 2 weeks. It was strongly urged by the dental association.
Tuesday March 17th the recommendation to close dental offices became a mandate, not a suggestion.

Wednesday March 18th here we are. (Of course now it’s one week later from when I originally started this post. TIME.)

*****

Time. All of us alone together. As a community, state, country and much of the world.
And in our own homes. We come together, then apart.
Apart. Together. Apart. Together.

Time is proving to be both a gift and a burden. We can finally do all that stuff we’ve claimed we want to do “when we have the time.”  And yet the hours have taken on a decidedly judgy tone, “Well Amy, we finally found a way to give you more of us and yet what are you doing?”

We all know what we’ve been doing. Our screen times have gone up 3459%

*****
But also…

Bake bread.
Make Cookies.
Play games with my family.
Netflix. Netflix. Netflix.
Make dinner.
Clean up dinner.
Laundry. (How am I still not on top of the laundry?)
Read books.
Listen to books.
Eat more carbs.
Read everything I can about the coronavirus and then tell everyone I know.
Wash my damn hands. Again and again and again.

******

How is everyone holding up? For me, and so many others it’s day-by-day. Sometimes hour-by-hour. I’ve had sleepness nights where my husband has slept like a baby, and then the next day he wakes up with a weight of worry on his chest unable to get back to sleep while I’m out cold. I’m a pretty good homebody, so in a way I’ve been surprised that I’ve felt anxiety and worry at all, but lets not forget, this really is a BIG DEAL. Like many people I don’t have too much worry about our family’s overall health and safety if we get the virus (although, lets be clear–I don’t want any of us to get it! And I know it can still be very difficult for people of all ages) but I DO worry about overpowering our healthcare system if we don’t do our part to flatten the curve, I worry about the economy (but I certainly put lives first) and I am worried about the mental health toll this will also take on our world. 

Some of the main ways I’ve been keeping my spirits up are regular dance parties–I’ve even been doing an Instagram Live at 4:00 EST with a 3 song dance party. It’s been lots of fun and a great way to work some stress out. I listened to Know My Name by Chanel Miller (a MUST read) and am now in the middle of Little Fires Everywhere By Celeste Ng and Untamed by Glennon Doyle, the latter of which I am underlining like crazy. (Also, listened to the Brene Brown interview Glennon and it was equally as spectatular.) 

So tell me–how are you feeling and how are you dealing?