- Two weeks into social distancing I remain in my bunker with spouse and two college-age children. Despite the horror of the coronavirus and the misfortune of many who are suffering, at this point I feel so fortunate to have my family. We’re doing well together.
- But I also have a helpless feeling — meaning it’s hard to find ways to help if we’re supposed to stay home. The best we’ve done so far is to make monetary donations to food pantries and foundations that help those affected by Covid-19.
- I place a lot of responsibility for the severity of the outbreak on our dear president and his loyal cronies who at first denied, then delayed response, then fucked up their response. If anything good comes out of this it will be people finally waking up and voting this fraud out of office in November.
- With plenty of time at home, I’m all caught up on spring cleanup in the yard. Lawn raked, beds cleared, repairs made.
- Some people are bingeing on Netflix and other streaming content, but I’ve been trying to read more. Just finished rereading a novel that’s on my top 25 of all time, “Mariette in Ecstasy” by Ron Hansen, and am getting near the end of the puzzling “Asymmetry” by Lisa Halliday.
- I’m taking a free online course offered by Yale University, The Science of Well-Being, taught by Laurie Santos. Although I’m ready to throttle the next person who preaches to me about being mindful, I’m totally engaged in this course and wish I could have taken it forty years ago.
- Speaking of courses, wow do my kids work hard on their college courses. Their lives have been majorly disrupted and all their classes are online, but they are putting in the time, not complaining, and staying motivated. I salute you, my offspring.
- I’ve never seen so many people out and about in my neighborhood. Families walking together, dog-walkers, bike riders. I live right across the street from an access point to our local rail trail and it has become a busy thoroughfare.
- We’ve saved quite a bit of money by not filling our gas tanks or going out to restaurants or doing any other kind of shopping. I feel bad for my friends who own restaurants and plan to order more takeout to help them.
- My hubris and naivety know no bounds. I’m practicing social distancing and hand washing and all that, but think that if I caught the coronavirus I could fight it off because I have a good immune system and have rarely been sick. This belief, despite the evidence to the contrary all around me: people much younger and healthier getting sick and dying. I told this to my daughter and said that if I die from the virus, don’t believe that it’s because I’ve jinxed myself. So much is random, so much is luck.
Two Weeks In: 10 Thoughts
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