Love in the Time of Corona

Well, this isn't going to be the promised post with fun recipes and interesting book reviews, but rather a check-in to let you know how we're doing and to find out how you're all doing during this unprecedented time.

First off, we are all healthy. If I could look into a crystal ball and see that all my loved ones would come out of this unscathed (well, except for the emotional toll, which will hardly be negligible), I'd be fine. I could quarantine, shelter-in-place, lockdown, hibernate, whatever—indefinitely. I'm certainly not encouraged by the "leadership" in Washington, and it seems likely we missed our chance to "flatten the curve" on the spread of this disease. I hope, I hope, I hope I'm wrong.

So, here's our status update:

You won't be surprised to hear that my work life hasn't changed one iota. I've been working from my home office for decades now, and my industry hasn't been affected. So I have a full workload and everything I need to get it done. Well, there is one problem: I cannot concentrate. I am just so distracted by news, by social media, by checking in on friends and relatives, by worry, by figuring out logistics to minimize leaving the house while making sure we have everything we need. This is a problem that many people have if they are newly working from home, but I'm an old hand at this, so it's caught me by surprise. I'm really finding it hard to stay on task, so today I'm going to try  to work in small chunks of time and then take planned breaks. 

Andy is still going to work every day and has never been busier. He runs a small textile manufacturing company (started by his grandfather!), one of the sidelines of which is selling janitorial supplies (mostly wiping cloths). So he is positively swamped with orders, which is of course a good thing, but I can't help wishing he could just stay home. I'm very grateful that his workers and office staff are still able to come in too. For those wondering about his eye, the retinal reattachment surgery seems to have worked, although he still can't see very well. He needs a new contact lens prescription for that eye, but they're not seeing non-emergency patients right now. The other problem is that the surgery causes a cataract to grow very rapidly, so he'll need surgery to remove that within 6 months (we knew this going in—it's a given with this kind of surgery!). So just as his vision is improving from the surgery, it is also being clouded over by the cataract. It turned out that the worst part of the first 6 weeks or so of his recovery was nausea pretty much 24/7 because he couldn't see anything out of that eye and thus had no depth perception, peripheral vision, balance, etc. 

Steph is home. She's finishing up her master's at BU, and once her classes were moved online, there didn't seem to be any reason for her to stay in her apartment downtown for now. She'd be alone (her roommates went home too), she'd have to keep going out to get food and supplies, and there'd be nothing to do. I'm so glad she got to do her wonderful student teaching gig last semester! She had been substitute teaching for that same class a few times this semester, but now that's gone too. 

Pete left in early January to spend a semester in Copenhagen! He was just loving it there and having the time of his young life. We were hoping to visit him as soon as Andy got the green light from the ophthalmologist that he could fly. Then, last Wednesday, the number of COVID-19 cases in Denmark jumped dramatically, so I booked him a flight home Friday. (Minutes later, his program was officially canceled.) Then, that night, the Person Of The Utmost Stupidity announced his travel ban to go into effect on Friday—but neglected to mention (at first) that it did not apply to US citizens! I flew into a panic and spent a bloody fortune switching Pete's flight to Thursday. So he woke up Thursday morning to a string of frantic emails from me saying: PACK NOW AND GO TO THE AIRPORT! That was one of the most stressful days of my life, just waiting for him to get home. I kept fearing that he'd develop a fever and have to stay, or that they'd somehow determine that he had been exposed and put him in quarantine there or in London (where he had a layover). But he made it, and you better believe I hugged him within an inch of life. All his friends who were studying overseas are also home, and Colby sent everyone home from campus too. I'm glad he at least got those 2 months in Copenhagen but feel terrible that he was robbed of the last 2 months. He also got to spend a week in Dublin on a class trip, and another week traveling around Denmark. He is voluntarily semi-quarantining himself for now (not leaving the house, not seeing anyone but us) since we don't know whether he was exposed. All reports seem to suggest that it's the twenty-somethings who are spreading this around! They are largely asymptomatic, and thus many of them are not taking the social distancing recommendations seriously enough. 

Julie is also being robbed: She'll miss out on the end of her senior year in high school. I can't imagine she'll have a prom or graduation ceremony, but we can certainly hope. Worse, her club volleyball program was canceled.  We had been going to tournaments all over New England every weekend, and she was in heaven. She was also supposed to start volunteering at a school for the deaf a few times a week (the high school has a program where seniors can drop a class for the last term and do some kind of internship or special project). So her plans to make the most of her two great passions—volleyball and ASL—got dashed. She did bake up some splendid banana chocolate chip muffins the other day, though.

I did a few big shops last week, so my stand-up freezer in the basement is nearly full. But wow, 5 adults sure do go through a lot of food in a week! Pete in particular eats a ridiculous amount—his usual breakfast is a 3-egg omelet with spinach and cheese, 2 pieces of avocado toast, sometimes bacon, and coffee. I bought 3 dozen eggs and they'll be gone all too soon! Plus 5 people's worth of soap and toilet paper and laundry detergent and on and on.... I've had some deliveries too, and I'll try to run out to the market periodically to stock up on eggs and fresh produce.

I feel so lucky we can afford to get what we need. I have been donating to local organizations that are helping those who are not so lucky. And we've been getting some take-out to support our local independent restaurants, who will be among the hardest hit. If we go under complete lockdown, I will try to buy some gift cards so they can get a temporary cash infusion. 

A big THANK YOU to all the healthcare personnel, emergency responders, mail/package deliverers, supermarket/pharmacy employees, utility workers, and everyone else who is making our lives easier.

I hope everyone reading this is hanging in there. Please let me know how you're doing—comment below, respond on Facebook or Twitter, email me, whatever. Consider this a virtual "elbow bump."

Comments

[Elena]

"Person Of The Utmost Stupidity!" I need to remember that one. I'm glad to hear that you are all together and staying busy. Even if it's hard to concentrate on work, it's good to have something to help you feel productive and keep your mind off of this endless worry and fear, if only for a while each day. I can't imagine how fast five adults can dwindle one's food supply. We are only two here, and I'm jealously guarding the few dozen eggs and what fresh produce we have left. I am very, very reluctant to venture out. Hang in there, Wise family!

[Beth F]

When I started freelance editing decades ago (probably about when you did), who knew it'd be the sane economic choice. I'm swamped with work, but also am having trouble concentrating.

Now if only the stupid stock market would level off along with the COVID-19 virus, I'd be happy. :)

[Stephanie W.]

Person Of The Utmost Stupidity! - LOVE IT. My cousins in Hong Kong have been out of school since Chinese New Year and they MAY go back to school on April 20.

My kid has referred to this period as Senior Skip Quarter.

[Margaret]

I too like how you describe our Idiot-in-Chief, or is it chief idiot? Glad that all your children are home and that you're managing. I don't like isolating but I'm doing it, after spending last week in two states, 4 airports, Grand Central, the Metro North x2, an Airporter coach x2 and 3 airplanes. I might be the dangerous one. I have most of what I need except company and am trying to keep busy with a mix of reading, exercising, and movies.

[Tonya Watkins]

Isolating because I caught the flu from my little grandson. At least I KNOW it's the flu because he was diagnosed, and it's a relief since he and his parents live in a coronavirus hotspot here in WA. Both my son and DIL are in the Navy who is hard-ass about allowing them to stay home and take care of a sick kid, so grandparents to the rescue. Once I feel better and have some ENERGY, I have a lot to do around here to keep me busy (and even entertained). I sure do hope this isn't a lengthy ordeal. I was encouraged to hear today that China is slowly starting to get back to normal.

[Katy]

The stories of your panic about getting Pete home and Julie missing so many parts of senior year are so upsetting. I’m so sorry that they had to miss out on those experiences. One of my nieces is at a small college where they had an impromptu graduation on their quad last week and my other niece is also missing her senior year and so many similarly important special activities. I’m lucky that my elementary aged kids are taking this in stride and have no choice but to follow the orders to stay home. It’s hard to balance home schooling and work but we’re figuring it all out. As for me, I’ve also worked from home for years but agree it’s so distracting to feel the urge to check the news and check in on friends and family. My fears for my own health and that fallout for my kids are also keeping me up nights, and we’re updating wills and insurance. And yet, we soldier on. The garden is waking up, the house needs cleaning, the laundry continues. Long dormant cookbooks are getting attention. I appreciate your post and hope you repost some of your old favorite recipes. ❤️

[Roz Potischman]

Welcome back. As you know, I have always felt NYC was the best place in the world to live despite not having lived in most cities of the world. I still feel that way after 50 years that included 9-1-1, the financial crisis in ‘08 and now the Trump Virus and Trump Economy. I will say that these times are unparalleled in my 80 years. It’s like living in a banana republic within a sci-fi movie. The Country is suffering under the so-called President’s mismanagement. It was inevitable when you have an ignorant, unfit, petty narcissist at the top. So much for “Make America Great.” It will be left for the next President(s) and all of us working together to “Restore America to Its Former Greatness.” We’re gonna need a bigger cap.