I’m getting back on track with my memory keeping. It’s been very interesting attempting to document my life when each day is like the other. The jokes and memes on the internet regarding it being Day 54,976 of quarantine are very true.
And while March was the start of my quarantine, it didn’t officially start here until March 17. April project life will definitely look different!
Let’s review how this month shook itself out.
WEEK ONE
This first week was pretty standard. I was starting work on my master bath refresh, baking, playing around with my camera and watching basketball-the Warriors had won their 15th game of the season and it turned out to be the last game before the season was cancelled. The news was talking about this virus that was causing major concern with infections and death tolls in other countries being widely discussed.
WEEK TWO
And now, it’s here. My county announced the shelter in place before the state and I recall feeling very unnerved. It seemed extreme at first but I trusted what I was hearing from the doctors and scientists as well as seeing what was happening in other countries. I was told to work from home starting on March 13. And then daily I started receiving messages from facilities that I visit, that all visits were restricted. And then on March 17, Governor Newsom shut the state down until April 7.
I knew that this was not like nothing we’ve experienced in the past when the NBA and all sports leagues started suspending their seasons. In the NBA, games were cancelled that Wednesday because a player had received a positive diagnosis. Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive and had just played a couple of days before.
I went out to dinner that Saturday the 14th at a local restaurant. It was right after social distancing was implemented and we didn’t know how to behave. I will never forget my final meal in a restaurant pre-COVID-19!
WEEK THREE
I started obsessively following the number of positive cases in my county. Grocery stores started marking off 6 feet in lines to indicate where folks should stand to be in compliance with social distancing. I was also feeling the need for snacks and treats being at home! I did have to go visit a couple of clients and took the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. I was stunned at how much traffic there was since we were supposed to be shut down!
WEEK FOUR
I’m fully in quarantine now and it is still weird. I’m still baking, making craft projects and working on my master bath refresh. One of the things I despise about doing projects is pulling everything out. The place where everything gets pulled out to is a holy mess!!
One new thing that I did due to being in quarantine is participate in a virtual retirement party!! The first of what is now many virtual meetings.
I was home all day and spending way too much time watching the news for updates. I was watching national briefings, local briefings and reading all sorts of stuff online. I’ve since slowed way down and am focused (mostly) on local updates.
This is a really strange time for memory keeping but it fits with my philosophy of not just focusing on the big special events. My life is not an Instagram reel. It’s just real and what’s real right now is the Coronavirus and quarantine. I want to remember decades from now what this was like. I don’t want to pretend like it was easy to get through or that it didn’t have an impact on me.
What is this time like for you? Do you want to remember it or just get through it and move on (there’s no right answer)?
Share in the comments.
