Enough is enough. ✨
✨ Issue #58 ✨
Nearly every evening during this social distancing, stay at home, quarantined life, I make an elaborate dinner. Nothing too crazy, but the kind of meal I’d usually save for the weekend, when there’s more time for that sort of thing. I was a homebody before all this started, but I still spent most of my time out of the house - rushing from work to spin class, walking the dog in the fading light and then eating leftovers at 8:30 p.m., going to book club or swinging by Trader Joe’s for a single item I forgot.
Even though I’m still working full time (thank god), I’m not nearly as busy these days. The commute from my kitchen to my desk takes roughly three seconds. I go to the grocery store once every other week. There are no errands to run because nothing is open, no friends to visit because everyone I know is also staying home.
Already, I feel myself adjusting and adapting to this new way of life. Last week, I attended a live yoga class via Zoom, and my book club met on Google Hangouts. Yesterday morning, I ran into no less than five friends at Harris Teeter, and we stood six feet apart in the aisles, amazed at the novelty of seeing one another in the flesh, careful not to get too close.
On Friday, the Governor of North Carolina issued a “stay at home” order for the next 30 days. I was already following all the guidelines, but it’s reassuring to see it made official, to have some idea of what the next month will look like.
As a person who loves routine, who thrives under the auspices of Good Habits, these last few weeks have been a wake up call. My routines, it turns out, are not as precious as I imagined. All the things I thought were vital to my well-being, my sense of self, are actually quite malleable. I can adapt and change and still preserve a kernel of myself which, it turns out, is all I really need. Maybe I'll feel different at week three or five or seventeen, but for now I'm grateful for this chance to narrow my focus, to see what's truly essential.
On Friday, the same day the stay at home order was announced, the chickens laid seven eggs, our old dog walked four slow miles, and I wrote 437 new words. What a gift to realize, as it was happening, that it was more than enough. 💛
🍌 Snack of the Week 🍌
Like the rest of the world, I've spent the majority of my quarantine time baking various things. This week I used a bunch of overripe bananas to make two loaves of slightly sweet, perfectly browned banana bread. I like Mark Bittman's recipe because it includes chocolate chips in the ingredients list. Every good banana bread recipe needs a handful of chocolate chips and we both knew I was going to add them regardless, so why pretend otherwise?
Relatable Reads
How to Be Together Apart In the Time of Coronavirus, New York Times. "In addition to the humanitarian and economic catastrophe we face, we are entering a gathering recession. But it doesn’t have to turn into a loneliness boom." This is written by the author of The Art of Gathering, which I read last year and which completely changed the way I view gatherings. I found this short editorial hopeful and optimistic! 🎉
Her Family Was Careful and They Got the Coronavirus Anyway, BuzzFeed News. This interview is straightforward and a good rundown of what testing positive for COVID-19 is like. Considering we're all probably going to get it eventually, it's worth a read. 🦠
Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild, Texas Monthly. If you, like the rest of the world, binged Tiger King while in quarantine, this delicious profile, published in June 2019, will help with withdrawals. 🐯
A Tiny Challenge
Now that we're spending so much time apart, it's the perfect opportunity to get back in the habit of snail mail. This week, write a letter to a friend or elderly family member, someone who may be feeling a little lonelier than usual. I wrote two last week and it was a great way to spend a few minutes of my day. Now if only I could find some stamps...
See you next Sunday! 💌
Thanks to Andrea P. and Rebecca M. for the kind contributions last week!
I spent it all on countless cups of coffee in this hip new cafe called My Kitchen.
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