Yesterday was my 30th day of self-isolation during this coronavirus pandemic. And it feels like it should be marked somehow.
It feels momentous. And surreal. And depressing. And hopeful.
Like something that should be celebrated – but it’s a celebration of doing nothing. Like this is too easy to be worth celebrating – but was actually super hard. Like my ho-hum time at home doesn’t matter compared to what so many are experiencing – but staying home matters a lot.
(Aside: This preamble is turning into something worthy of A Tale of Two Cities – the book so unanimously hated in my high school senior English class that several friends bought copies to burn at graduation parties.)
(#SorryNotSorry, Dickens.)
So, what has self-isolation been like? Well, I’ve enjoyed a lot of quality memes.
But woman can not live on meme alone. In the spirit of the writer’s maxim “show don’t tell,” I’m sharing what I have actually been doing in my 30 days at home during this pandemic.
30 Things I’ve done during the coronavirus pandemic
1. Write some, but not much.
2. Supporting local businesses when I can.
3. Vote.
4. Video chat with friends.
5. Write an article on Working from Home with Kids.
6. Binge read six novels in a week. Then read nothing at all.
7. Throw out my back. Then set up a new standing-desk converter to make it less likely to happen again.
8. Let go of the pressure to be productive. (Mostly.)
9. Figure out e-learning with my kids.
10. Stay informed by reading news from trustworthy sources.
11. Hide from the news when it becomes too stressful.
12. Rediscover dark humor as a coping mechanism.
13. Take naps.
14. Go for family walks and bike rides in remote areas.
15. Stress eat.
18. Dye my hair blue.
19. Spend a lot of time on social media – even for me.
20. Make art with no expectations.
21. Play Animal Crossing. A lot.
22. Attempt to take a cat on a walk.
23. Feel stressed, depressed, angry, and anxious on repeat.
24. Celebrate a 10th birthday! (Then scrub every inch of my kitchen when the 10 year old was done baking her cake.)
25. Lean hard into accepting my emotions. And encourage others to do the same.
26. Try to appreciate the little things. (Like brilliant sunsets.)
27. Play online games with friends.
28. Make palm crosses with daffodil leaves.
29. Ok, fine. I finally watched The Tiger King.
30. Stay home and #flattenthecurve with self-isolation.
P.S.
I actually really like Dickens. I even read several of his pieces in high school when they weren’t required. But Tale of Two Cities… I just couldn’t.
Maybe I would like it now as an adult without an English teacher slowly strangling the life out of it with literary analysis. (#SorryNotSorry, Senior English Teacher.) But with so many great books in the world, why take a chance?