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5 June 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not
Dear Diary,
Is there a kind of tired we’re not right now?
That’s the only sentence I wrote all week. In the back of a spiral notebook I was using to make lists and organize details for my parents’ move.
Is there a kind of tired we’re not right now?
Jotted between moving boxes and assigning jobs to my children and reading the news about pandemic updates and protests across the nation and the … Continue Reading “5 June 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not”
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29 May 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not
Dear Diary,
I didn’t watch the video of George Floyd’s murder.
I couldn’t.
I can’t.
I didn’t watch the video of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder, either.
Their dying breaths.
At the hands of White Authority.
Modern lynching.
Careless disregard for lives deemed less valuable, less worthy — just LESS — than their own.
I hide the videos as they pop up in my Facebook feed, even while I read the articles, the calls to action, … Continue Reading “29 May 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not”
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26 May 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not
Dear Diary,
I found a turd on my desk this morning.
An actual poop.
Just one tiny tootsie roll, all by itself, still fresh. Puppy sized. But there was no way for the puppy to get on my desk, and, also, he wasn’t in my room. Which means the turd just spontaneously materialized there. Or someone put it there. Except WHO WOULD DO THAT so I’m going with Option A — spontaneous materialization. I … Continue Reading “26 May 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not”
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21 May 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not
Dear Diary,
I’d prefer to avoid writing to you today because I’m in a state of transition and trying to figure out next steps and it’s easier to Avoid Everything right now by watching YouTube videos and season 4 of Riverdale with Abby than it is to Engage My Brain, Figure Out What I’m Thinking, and Make a Plan.
There. I wrote that sentence, got up from my desk, made a cup of tea, … Continue Reading “21 May 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not”
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14 May 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not
Dear Diary,
Today I made yogurt, a loaf of sourdough bread, crumpets, popovers, swirled cheese buns, and rhubarb jelly which is a LOT OF THINGS. And now I’m Very Tired, and I’m going to go sit in the bathtub with M&Ms if there are any left over after I accidentally showed them to the rest of my family, and I’m going to read my book.
Greg Woolsey, bless his heart, just walked into the … Continue Reading “14 May 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not”
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6 May 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not
Dear Diary,
Today’s northwest Oregon weather looks like my feelings and my Facebook feed. Bright and dark, clear and stormy, warm and cold, and general mayhem — predictable in that it’s all chaos all the time right now, and unpredictable as far as when, exactly, the next deluge will start.
I admit, Diary, I’m becoming increasingly distressed by the viral spread of conspiracy theories and debunked scientists/doctors’ videos, and disheartened by the swirling funnel … Continue Reading “6 May 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not”
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17 April 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not
Dear Diary,
I’ve now limited my grocery shopping to twice per month. I don’t know if it’s because I’m all Barney Stinson about this whole #StayHomeStaySafe campaign — CHALLENGE. ACCEPTED. — or if I’m somehow living out my Little House on the Prairie fantasies or engaging my latent skills from growing up in the jungles of Indonesia, but I’m all about making stuff from scratch and stretching a dollar and sorting and organizing and … Continue Reading “17 April 2020 — The COVID Diaries: Staying Sane in a Time That’s Not”