Corona Diaries

Well, here we are. 

As I type this, it’s a quiet Friday morning, day five of homeschooling, day seven of being home. The Children are blessedly still asleep and school will start eventually as there is no way in hell that I will wake them up. That’s the thing about having your own school; you can do what you want. 

I am of course having ups and downs. Yesterday I was walking my dog and out of nowhere, tears just dripped down my face. I’m a crier, (I mean, I still cry every time Goose dies. Why does he have to die every time?), so this isn’t too alarming, but this sudden flourish jolted my emotions. Emotions that seemed too large to encapsulate so my body had to release somehow. It sort of set the tone for my day and to no surprise, it ended up being a hard day. It felt weighted. It felt endless. I gave everyone a pass, including myself, and as a result, Daughter spent most of her day doing her best to become one with her iPad. She was feeling all the feels yesterday, too. When not physically melting into technology, she worked on perfecting her door slam, which was already amongst the highest rank in the land, but practice does make perfect. 

I will say that I’ve never been in more constant contact with friends and family. I guess there’s a thing called Zoom and it’s sole function is to have virtual happy hour with friends. I mean, I assume that’s why it was invented. Also, I’m learning that I actually know less about technology than originally thought. Thank god I have a 13 year old who thinks I’m dumb and helps me. 

As my phone dings all day with messages, bringing little bursts of much needed laughter, it’s a reminder of this messy but beautifully ragged silver lining. We really are all in this together. So often during troubling times, we feel so alone and isolated. And now it’s in our isolation that we remember we’re all together. I’m right here with you, neighbor. Friend. Parent. Sister. Brother. Kids. I’m right here. And so are you. 

I want today to be a better day. The sun is shining and the sky is blue and it’s very confusing for it to be such a beautiful day when life right now is a great big unknown. I like to think that perhaps the sky is just trying to cheer us up. Remind us that each day will come to an end and then begin again and all we need to do is look up to know that we will stand the test of time. 

In an effort to make today a better day, some things about the corona that aren’t so bad:

If my dog could talk, she would tell you she is living her best.life.ever.

My kids sleep in every day. Son specifically is really making me proud with his efforts.

I get a good laugh thinking about all the people who do weird shit to their face and now they can’t. 

When I’m out walking the happiest dog on the planet, I see families I didn’t even know existed in my neighborhood out together riding bikes. Where did you people come from? And why am I just now finding out about you? You should really come outside more often. 

It’s not what ARE we going to have for dinner…it’s what AREN’T we going to have for dinner! Dinner for days and days and days is just waiting patiently in my freezer. Maybe I should take this corona lesson with me and keep planning monthly dinner menus. Oh my god, somebody slap me. 

The other day, I posed a question online about where I could find tortillas. I came home from an errand to find a bag of tortillas outside my door that a friend in the neighborhood dropped off. (Hi, Zoe.) See? In it together for our love of tortillas and tacos.

No more FOMO! Because we all know exactly what everyone is doing and none of us are invited. 

Spending this much time with my kids makes me realize that I’ve always spent a lot of time with my kids. Obviously when the day comes that they get to go back to school, we will all be weak with joyous laughter, tears and relief…but I think I’ve been doing right by them all these years. My buddies forever. (Talk to me on Day 27.) (Or maybe 17.) (Actually, maybe just on Monday.)

We made it to our first Friday. And we’ll make it to the next. Be safe. Stay healthy. Wash your hands. Don’t harm your children. And by all means, let’s takedown Common Core. Together, we can do anything.