Day 20. Saturday, April 4, 2020. As we begin another weekend in the Social Distancing Era, our days seem to all run together. Unless, of course, we consciously separate our work time from our leisure time.
One thing has remained constant for me throughout this strange time we live in: I avoid housework and laundry. It’s just a continuation of my normal, this avoidance. Some people love to clean, tidy and straighten. I look at my overstuffed house and shudder at the thought. Every surface is overflowing with something. Clutter reigns supreme. Collections of shoes, clothes, magazines, books, mail, cooking utensils and receptacles, antique furniture, tchotchkes, more clothing….the things that fill every nook and cranny of my home and every surface available seem to proliferate on their own. The worst part of all is I contribute to the proliferation even as I abhor it. I am catatonic in the face of the “stuff.” And so I avoid. In fact, I am writing this as a means to procrastinate the laundry I absolutely have to do today. I’m hopeful that at some point I will get over it and actually do something about it.
You’ll be happy to learn that I actually laundered the sheets and towels today. A triumph!
This afternoon, while the sun shone, we went for a drive to pick up cheese. This is how we shop now: order and pay ahead, drive up to the curb outside the cheesemonger’s and have your order handed to you, arm’s length. I’m happy we can still buy cheese from the man – and he can have some business to stay afloat.
We came home, sat on the back porch and warmed our bones by the sun shining from the West. My daughter brought me a home-made face mask to wear to the market. No sooner had she given it to me, she begged me to have the groceries delivered. The kids are scared. According to the teenagers in my home, we are in the eye of the storm – and while we are fine in the eye, if we venture outside of it, we are doomed.
This is our new normal. We are still lucky enough to be able to buy food. We can still go for drives. But it is not normal, and the kids are frightened. Afraid that any step outside of the relative safety of our house will result in sickness and death.
Such is life, now. We oscillate between being frustrated by the state of our homes and thankful for its safety.