Nine Months of Sheltering

It has been 39 weeks and 4 days since Friday, March 13th, the last day my kids attended school in person. That's a long time. A human could have fully gestated another entire human during the time that we have been sheltering in place due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Earth has continued to orbit the sun, we've experienced two equinoxes and one solstice in that time. Taylor Swift has written and released two albums. Astronauts have gone to the International Space Station and returned to the planet already. Multiple COVID-19 vaccines have been developed. I have done nothing so grand.

Here are a few of my Shelter In Place accomplishments from the past nine months:

I have become extremely adept at staying in bed until at least 7am every day, even when I shouldn't. I have trained my body to tolerate a cup of coffee or tea almost every day because I like the ritual of making something warm to drink in the morning. I don't get as hyped up on caffeine as I used to after one cup. I have done my house chores religiously, including scooping the litter boxes and picking up dog feces daily. That makes 277 days that I have cleaned up crap since this started! I'm going to put that on my resumé!

Even though I feel like my brain is complete garbage-mush, I have memorized both of my children's school ID numbers and am well practiced at logging in to their school accounts to check on assignments and grades. I have also memorized my library card because I use it weekly to check out books online and schedule curb-side pick up appointments. I have a fun new hobby of playing the game Best Fiends on my phone while listening to audiobooks or podcasts. That must be using two different parts of my brain at the same time, which is good brain exercise, right? 

My awareness of time has slipped into some type vortex. April feels like it was last week, or maybe ten years ago, I'm not really sure. I know I made dinner last night, but I can't recall what we ate. Screen time adds to this phenomenon. Many afternoons, when schoolwork and homework are complete, the kids are free to enjoy some fun screen time. I have developed a new habit that I like to practice during that time; I sit myself down on the couch with my book and my iPhone with every intention of reading, and instead I scroll through Facebook and Instagram, using my unopened book as a hand rest. I'm not particularly proud of that new habit, but it is the one I do most often. 

Other accomplishments include watching every episode of The Mandalorian. We have a new tradition of watching the show together as a family, which we all enjoy. 

We wear our masks when we leave the house, we keep physically distanced when around other people, we don't socialize in person with our friends outside of our social bubble, even though we REALLY miss them. This global pandemic is everywhere (hence the "global" and "pandemic") so I find it strange and shocking when I see pictures of friends who live in other areas participating in mask-less, pre-pandemic-looking social activities. Where I live, local mask recommendations and public restrictions were in place early, eased slightly and gradually over the months, then suddenly strict again last week. I am grateful for, respectful of, and understand the need for the guidelines in place. My county's population is approximately the same as that of the entire state of Idaho, and larger than the ten least populated states. We need to be careful here, and even with our efforts at prevention, the virus is spreading rapidly right now. 

Taken from City of Livermore's Website

Anyhow, here's to nine months in this mess! I'm expecting another solid nine. I'll let you know if I develop any new skills or invent human hibernation.

Stay safe out there.