It's Saturday, March 21, 2020. It seems important to say that, even though this blog post will automatically date itself. I'm hoping that by writing this I can pin my feet to the earth and keep from flying off into the stratosphere.
Things have changed so insanely rapidly since this pandemic entered our awareness. I remember that on Wednesday of this week (the 18th) I thought about the Wednesday prior (the 11th) and how different the world looked then. That was Spring Break week, so things in my two-university town were blessedly quiet. Traffic was minimal. I was sorry to miss our Friday with our granddaughter, which would have been two granddaughters because of the break. But they had gotten a fun offer with some friends. (It starts early, y'all.)
Since that time, the world seems to have slammed shut. No one is going anywhere they don't have to go. The phone is hardly ringing on my work phone. Long-anticipated trips and vacations have been canceled. As I said to a friend, I totally get how much privilege I've had to have been able to schedule such things. But it's still okay to grieve the loss of them.
Yesterday we had both granddaughters (school is on hiatus). I had lots planned, but nothing worked out as I intended. The library was Facebook Live-ing their storytime, which we regularly attend....but their phone/broadcast device was sideways. It did NOT hold the interest of the girls, even when Ken turned my 24" monitor on its side (which actually worked). The "Color Changing Slime" kit I had bought was a bust. Nash and I have made a LOT of slime and this, my friends, was no slime. It was a mess.
OH, and I'd made peanut-butter cookies with googly candy eyes. Guess what? they "don't like peanut butter." Can they be American children?!
Now, as Ken pointed out, the girls had a great time. They like to come to our house and they didn't want to go home. That's always gratifying. We played with Barbies a lot, amused ourselves with googly eyes (not the candy kind), and read a lot of books. So the day was a success...just not according to MY plan for how it will go. If you need a metaphor for life, hang around with little kids.
In the "so much togetherness" department, Ken wanted me to watch a YouTube video of a woman talking about "the Deep State." It's hard for an Enneagram 5 who has found something VERY INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT to be married to an Enneagram 9, who does not want to think about any such thing as "the Deep State." It might be real all day long, but I don't feel that anything will be changed in any positive way by me knowing about it. Hard feelings ensued. This is not unusual, but: especially right now? I don't need or want any more bad news. Thanks so much. Especially when the president goes on TV at all hours and tells lies and is horrid. That is reality and more than enough.
I'm horrified at the stories of medical supply shortages. I'm enraged at the lack of care and testing for people who ask for help. If anyone needed proof that our medical system is broken, we are all set for that. I'm also scared...not for me, although certainly, I could get sick...but my husband is at risk in multiple ways, as are many people I love.
I'm grateful for virtual community. I'm thrilled to read Morning Prayer with Anchor Worship folks, hear Marci read the poetry of David Whyte, join Chad for Morning Office and The Compline Consortium for end-of-day prayers at 8 pm. It gives shape to my day, which is sadly lacking. I also have a list of daily to-do's which include personal hygiene, going outside, and exercising.
That's what it looks like today.
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