Life at Home, but Spooky
I've been having strange dreams. I don't remember them past a few minutes of wakefulness, but I know they're weird, slightly unsettling, and I completely blame the total bonkers-ness of current reality.
My dad says it's like the Twilight Zone. I'm sure a lot of people have that sense.
Coe College professor Dr. Jane Nesmith started a blog inspired by the book Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe, to document her experience and observations of these times, as well as share some history. I thought I might write a little about my experience here, in case I ever want to look back at this time. Here is what I remember:
For a few months I'd started to hear the words "corona virus" here and there. I don't watch TV news and lately the times I've listened to NPR, it's been all about the election. So it was something I knew was happening, but seemed quite far off. I remembered SARS and H1N1 and that those had seemed quite scary but never ended up coming to my doorstep. I did not worry about it.
A few weeks ago I began to realize the virus was likely coming here. I started to see people talking about stocking up with a few weeks worth of necessities. I decided to go ahead and do so, even thought I felt totally ridiculous and paranoid. I did a big shop at Hy-Vee on March 7th, where I spent twice as much as I normally do. I asked the cashier if they were seeing a lot of people in to stock up because of the virus, and he said no, he hadn't noticed that. I wasn't sure if a lot of the frozen fruits and vegetables were out because it was simply time to restock, or maybe the cashier was mistaken.
I did another shop on March 12th at New Pioneer Co-op for lots of veg and Hy-Vee again for a couple more frozen things and to load up on over-the-counter cold medicine and Gatorade and popsicles, things my family likes to have when we're sick. Those last few things were in response to a Twitter thread that has been shared many times suggesting that people do so. That day was Charles' last day of school before spring break, which is now perhaps never ending. Jonathan and I went to the library that weekend, in and out to grab a book I had on hold and a bag of coffee beans from the library cafe. I haven't been inside another building besides home since.
That weekend, it changed. It was real. I was not a lone, paranoid individual after all. This was happening. I had been doing the right thing to prepare. And now, a little over a week later, it's worse. The number of cases is exploding. Weeks of isolation may turn into months, and just how many months...we don't yet know. I'm actually a little bit afraid of the virus.
What's it been like at home? The first week, Jonathan was still going to work, but he's now mostly at home and his work is closed to the public with only a few employees in the building at a time. They're a church so they've been hustling to get everything online, like everyone else. Zoom, Facebook Live, etc.: this is the church in 2020.
Things for Charles and me are not all that different. I'm looking at my phone, reading books, making things, cooking, basically all the same old things but it feels like I'm doing it more intensely. I'm VERY MUCH looking at my phone. EMPHATICALLY reading, making things, cooking. ESPECIALLY looking at my phone. But TRYING NOT TOO LOOK AT MY PHONE because too much phone in the eyes gives me a headache.
I'm also trying to go walking outside, but it makes me feel a little bit like I'm in a zombie movie. I do not want to be caught by surprise by another person! Still, the time spent outside is the most peaceful, even though it's been gray and damp, because the birds are chirping and little green things are poking out from beneath their blanket of leaves.
I will leave it here for now, but I will be back with further thoughts.
 |
| The Enigma of the Hour, Giorgio de Chirico, 1911. |
My dad says it's like the Twilight Zone. I'm sure a lot of people have that sense.
Coe College professor Dr. Jane Nesmith started a blog inspired by the book Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe, to document her experience and observations of these times, as well as share some history. I thought I might write a little about my experience here, in case I ever want to look back at this time. Here is what I remember:
For a few months I'd started to hear the words "corona virus" here and there. I don't watch TV news and lately the times I've listened to NPR, it's been all about the election. So it was something I knew was happening, but seemed quite far off. I remembered SARS and H1N1 and that those had seemed quite scary but never ended up coming to my doorstep. I did not worry about it.
A few weeks ago I began to realize the virus was likely coming here. I started to see people talking about stocking up with a few weeks worth of necessities. I decided to go ahead and do so, even thought I felt totally ridiculous and paranoid. I did a big shop at Hy-Vee on March 7th, where I spent twice as much as I normally do. I asked the cashier if they were seeing a lot of people in to stock up because of the virus, and he said no, he hadn't noticed that. I wasn't sure if a lot of the frozen fruits and vegetables were out because it was simply time to restock, or maybe the cashier was mistaken.
I did another shop on March 12th at New Pioneer Co-op for lots of veg and Hy-Vee again for a couple more frozen things and to load up on over-the-counter cold medicine and Gatorade and popsicles, things my family likes to have when we're sick. Those last few things were in response to a Twitter thread that has been shared many times suggesting that people do so. That day was Charles' last day of school before spring break, which is now perhaps never ending. Jonathan and I went to the library that weekend, in and out to grab a book I had on hold and a bag of coffee beans from the library cafe. I haven't been inside another building besides home since.
That weekend, it changed. It was real. I was not a lone, paranoid individual after all. This was happening. I had been doing the right thing to prepare. And now, a little over a week later, it's worse. The number of cases is exploding. Weeks of isolation may turn into months, and just how many months...we don't yet know. I'm actually a little bit afraid of the virus.
What's it been like at home? The first week, Jonathan was still going to work, but he's now mostly at home and his work is closed to the public with only a few employees in the building at a time. They're a church so they've been hustling to get everything online, like everyone else. Zoom, Facebook Live, etc.: this is the church in 2020.
Things for Charles and me are not all that different. I'm looking at my phone, reading books, making things, cooking, basically all the same old things but it feels like I'm doing it more intensely. I'm VERY MUCH looking at my phone. EMPHATICALLY reading, making things, cooking. ESPECIALLY looking at my phone. But TRYING NOT TOO LOOK AT MY PHONE because too much phone in the eyes gives me a headache.
I'm also trying to go walking outside, but it makes me feel a little bit like I'm in a zombie movie. I do not want to be caught by surprise by another person! Still, the time spent outside is the most peaceful, even though it's been gray and damp, because the birds are chirping and little green things are poking out from beneath their blanket of leaves.
I will leave it here for now, but I will be back with further thoughts.
 |
| Gare Montparnasse (The Melancholy of Departure), Giorgio de Chirico, 1914. |
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