Day 12: Things We’ve Heard

Posted on 03/25/2020 by chick
  • Today I learned from a local news source that my town has not zero but “fewer than five” cases of coronavirus. As if that information is in any way helpful.
  • I looked up the relationship between blood type and coronavirus, because my husband had heard that people with certain blood types are more likely to catch the disease. More study needs to be done, but it’s possible that types A and AB may be more prone to the virus. What was interesting to me particularly, because I was just talking to my mom about this yesterday, is that blood type does matter when it comes to certain other viruses, such as norovirus. I said to my mom that I don’t worry about norovirus, because I don’t usually catch the stomach flu. Apparently, people with B type blood do tend to be resistant, so my seeming immunity to it might not be just wishful thinking.
  • I also came across an article that stated that there’s not enough evidence yet to say that ibuprofen is bad for coronavirus patients. That’s good news, because it keeps that option open for us. The acetaminophen arrived today, so now we are fully stocked with fever reducers. I am grateful, but I hope we won’t need them.
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Day 11: Death and a Bird

Posted on 03/24/2020 by chick
  • Today my Twitter feed was full of names of people who have died from coronavirus. It will get worse before it gets better, and I don’t know how we’ll stand it.
  • For the sake of future context, here are the coronavirus numbers as of 7:54 this evening: over 421,000 cases globally with nearly 19,000 dead. Over 53,000 of the cases are in the U.S., and we’ve lost 712 citizens. Rhode Island has 124 verified cases, CT has 618, and MA 1,159.
  • Some Republicans, watching the market tank, and getting tired of lockdown restrictions, have suggested that perhaps seniors ought to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the economy and the stock market. Greedy, heartless bastards.
  • Today Netflix shipped the movie Parasite to us, but when I saw the e-mail announcement, what I read was “We’ve shipped you a parasite.” And I thought, “What, the virus ain’t bad enough?”
  • I saw a cardinal perched in the back yard. We don’t have a bird feeder right now, so there was no food to draw him here. He just randomly stopped by, and that was very kind of him. Cardinal red is a cheerful red.
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Day 10: Limping into Spring

Posted on 03/23/2020 by chick

Today we had one of those famous New England spring snowstorms.

Maybe blooming early
wasn’t such a good idea.
Heads bowed low with snow,
the daffodils ponder their life choices.

Marshall and I went hiking in the woods as the snow was falling and it was, as always, beautiful.

Marshall Leads the Way

It’s good that we enjoyed the snow while it lasted, because spring snow is ephemeral. Rain is washing it away even as I write this. But, having somehow hurt my left foot during yesterday’s hike, I shouldn’t have gone out today. Now I can’t walk without limping.

Other items of note:

  • My brother called me today. He and his family are OK. He’s worried this virus will kill him, because he’s 50 and a smoker. I worry about that, too. Too many people I love are in the above-average-risk category. I need to make more phone calls.
  • The kids finished signing up for their remote learning classes. Tomorrow their e-schooling officially begins.
  • The kids’ remote fencing classes also begin this week. We have borrowed foils. Now we just have to set up a practice area with a target.
  • Livia lost a tooth today. Lucky for Livia, the Tooth Fairy is not afraid of coronavirus and doesn’t practice social distancing.
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Day 9: Trying Not to Think

Posted on 03/22/2020 by chick

I went for a walk in the woods today. I needed the exercise. Exercise helps me not to think about what’s going on in the world. But I still had to come back home, and now I am at home and thinking again. And what I am thinking is that this self-isolation thing was kind of interesting as a short-term proposition, but it’s wearing thin. I would like to go about my usual business now. 🙁

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Bed Art

Posted on 03/21/2020 by chick

Now that the children are home all the time, they see me making the bed every day, and they’ve taken an interest in it. It astounds them that the pillows are stacked on the ottoman in the morning. They don’t understand why I remove the pillows from the bed at night. They cannot fathom the concept of having pillows purely for decoration. But they are fascinated by the decorative possibilities.

One day, I made the bed in an unusual way, with the pillows stacked up and Tiggy perched atop them. The kids asked if I’d let Daddy make the bed. Ha-ha!

But it inspired them. They started wanting to arrange the pillows or, as Marshall put it, to make “bed art” (OMG, why didn’t I think to call it that?). When Marshall arranges the pillows, first he throws them onto the bed, a process which he calls “preparing the canvas.”

Here is today’s masterpiece.

Bed Art
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Nature’s Noises

Posted on 03/20/2020 by chick

Sounds of the evening: the perky songs of peepers, the gentle hoots of owls, and an awful screaming sound that is probably fisher cats.

Why you gotta like scream that, fisher cats?

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Day 6: Acceptance, Hope, and “Picard”

Posted on 03/19/2020 by chick

Today we heard that Rhode Island schools will be closed for at least two more weeks. My husband doesn’t think the kids will be going back to school at all for this school year. That’s certainly possible. Some colleges have already announced that they will only do remote learning for the remainder of the semester. As for me, I hope the kids will be able to go back, though my pessimistic half laughs at me and calls me a fool for it. If all goes as planned, the kids will begin e-schooling on Monday.

I realize how lucky I am to be able to stay home, to be here for my children, to be able to take time off if I need it, and to be paid as usual. I am not struggling in the same way as others are or soon will be. But I have lost what little contact I had with the outside world and the anchors that kept me in sync with it. I was already feeling too isolated. Now it will be worse. I will have to be mindful of that and make more of an effort to stay in touch with people.

I want to remain positive, but I have a habit of reading too much. I have seen a lot of reports from China and Italy about how bad things got for them, and I am scared. Americans do not like being told what to do, even when it’s for their own good. A lot of them are behaving stupidly and will continue to do so. I worry about our inept and corrupt federal government, that it will continue its poor handling of the situation, and that it will take advantage by expanding its powers. I worry about a lot of things, and I can do nothing but stay home.

But at least I can watch a new episode of Picard, because it’s Thursday. Thank goodness for that. And congratulations to me, because I haven’t lost all track of time yet.

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Day 5: Coughs and Sneezes

Posted on 03/18/2020 by chick

It is now our 5th day of hunkering down. My hubby went to the bank today (he still has a business to run, after all), but excepting his one small outing, we haven’t been around other people for five days. Since COVID-19 has an incubation period of roughly 3-5 days, it ought to be showing itself right about now if we had already brought it home with us before our self-isolation began. I think of this every time I hear the kids cough or sneeze. They probably have allergies or an ordinary cold, but there’s no way to be sure. Even though children’s immune systems generally do a good job of fighting this virus off, I’d rather they avoided it.

I’m not going to worry too much, because there’s nothing I can do about it. I feel sorry, though, for everyone who has to go out in public right now and listen to the coughs and sneezes of strangers. I know I would not like the way that would make me feel, not just worrying about catching the virus and bringing it home with me, but feeling like other people were a threat. That’s not a good way to be, but I don’t know if I’d be able to stop myself.

Coronavirus sucks.

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Finally

Posted on 03/17/2020 by chick

Tonight I finally undecorated the Christmas tree and put all the ornaments away. Don’t judge me. It’s been a crappy year. At least I got it done before the spring equinox.

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Day 4: Minding the Calendar

Posted on 03/17/2020 by chick

Today is Day 4 for us, though other people started their self-isolation earlier or later, so it might be a different number for them. So far, the isolation hasn’t changed much about our lives. As a full-time teleworker, I’m used to being home. My husband does most of his work from home, too. My kids are technically on vacation right now, and there’s nothing very unusual about that. Still, it feels different.

Today is also, we can all agree, a Tuesday and St. Patrick’s Day. I mention that because I need be mindful of the calendar now. Usually the kids are in school, where even minor holidays like St. Patrick’s day are treated as a big deal, and where it matters which day of the week it is. Their school schedule helps to anchor us in time, and without that anchor, I worry that I will lose track of the days.

Yesterday I went outside and took pictures of spring flowers. This morning I’m looking out the window at a landscape covered in a light blanket of snow. Winter hasn’t quite let go of us yet. That’s fine. The calendar agrees that it is not quite spring. But soon, the plants say. Very soon.

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