Blogging from the depths of Coronavirus 2020…
I know, I know, it’s COVID-something something something, but whatever. It will forever be the Coronavirus to me, because the first thing I thought when this thing hit the mass media headlines was, “Oh man, this is either going to suck for Corona beer or it’s going to make them a fortune.”
And I don’t even drink beer.
But I get it. This virus, this pandemic, has now officially affected EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. Even Thoreau, if he were still alive.
Come on, seriously? Don’t tell me there is a single person in this world who isn’t affected, even if it’s via the ridiculous amount of news coverage we are pummeled with every single day. Practically every minute of every single day.
So yeah, my family is hunkering down, just like rest of you should be.
The kid is doing “distance learning.” (HUGE shout out to all teachers. And also to parents who have to fight with these kids who would rather keep up with the latest whatever series is trending on Netflix than actually attempt to move on to the next grade.)
The husband and I are both working from home, which created the first quarantine struggle, since we only have one extra room to claim as an office. And since he was the one who actually set everything up in said office, I suppose, on some basic, alpha level, he probably deserved first dibs. But the reality is as follows:
- My office is now the dining room, which has giant windows and is east facing and therefore gets the most sunlight (when we actually have sun here in Michigan). And we all know that sunlight is good for the soul. And the body. And, generally speaking, everything. (Except vampires.)
- My office is now two steps away from the fridge. And the snack drawer.
- My office has weirdly awesome acoustics, so SiriusXM sounds freaking amazing playing in the background.
- My office is closest to the booze, when it’s quittin’ time.
Tell me again, WHO HAS THE BEST HOME OFFICE???
Personally, this whole quarantine bit hasn’t tampered with my cheer, at least not yet. I mean, I am a writer, after all. Our best moments occur when we’re entirely isolated, creating worlds that don’t exist (Shout out to Steven King and Sylvia Brown and Dean Koontz and every other author whose crazy-ass imagination predicted this mass hysteria. Next time can we let the romance novelists have their due?).
So far, a week in, my little family of three is doing all right. We head to the grocery store when we need basic items, and we buy in quantities we would normally buy—even at Costco or Sam’s Club. We’ve ordered takeout (or delivery). The house is shockingly clean. The dog gets far more walks than she could remotely daydream about (but no more food, so I guess it isn’t a cake walk for everyone). We joke and tease each other. Obviously the teasing is heavy on the Coronavirus memes.
We’re cooking at home more frequently, which probably isn’t a bad thing. We’re drinking more, which probably isn’t a good thing.
Overall, we’re riding it out, waiting for this virus to work its way through our lives, so we can figure out what the hell our new normal will be like. Hey, we’ve been through this before (see: my son’s death in 2016); we know how to finagle the new path in life.
Because yeah, our lives have been altered by this virus. Whether it’s a small or large change (my deepest sympathies for anyone who has contracted it, or worse, has had a loved one die from this horribleness), when we make our way to the other side of this crazy, we will all be different. Somehow, someway.
I hope it’s for the better. For you, as a person. For all of us.
Because, yeah, we’re in this together.
Let’s beat this, humanity.
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