Day 42

It’s official. The decision has been made and the shelter-in-place order for the San Francisco Bay area has been extended until the end of May. This isn’t a surprise. We’ve all be expecting the announcement. And it isn’t a bad decision. It’s wise.

But man, after six weeks of staying at home, the thought of five weeks more just reduces me to actual tears. I won’t list the litany of people I long to see and the activities I long to engage it. You’ve got your own lists. We may be socially distant right now, but we’re united in our fierce desire to “get on with the show.”

Oh, well, until then, damn you, coronavirus.

What can I offer on a bright note? Surely there is something!

Ah, yes. Two items of note: First, a couple of family members and I are starting a book club. We’ve picked our first book and then we’ll FaceTime talk about it. We don’t argue about politics, but I bet we’ll have a lively discussion about the book. We got the idea from The New York Times and went with the paper’s recommendation for a first book, Safekeeping by Abigail Thomas. Anybody read it?

The second item of note, I got to chat with my college mentee today. Like college students most everywhere, “L” is back home, taking classes online, missing friends, and campus life. What is the first thing she’s going to do post-sheltering-in-place? Go for a donut! How can you argue with that for a cheerful back-to-normal priority? I called to see how I can help L with her life but truth be told, her positivity made my day! We laughed and laughed until my stomach hurt.

And so goes Day 42, the end of Week Six. OMG. Many more weeks to come! But Spring is in the air. Flowers are blooming. Life renews. We’ll get through this.