Day 2
Oh my god it’s only day 2.
Two year olds are a HANDFUL! Even though my niece is possibly the cutest to exist, she has the attention span of, well, a two year old. We headed out for a bike ride this morning and she talked my ear off (which I loved). She kept mentioning the “beautiful houses” and the “fantastic trees” as we rode past. Her words. She has an incredible imagination right now. Today we swam across the ocean, got into her boat and sailed to Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head’s house (toys she does not own) for dinner. When we arrived…at the kitchen… I knocked and she promptly told me “they’re out”. Then she shoved a book into my stomach and asked “can you please read me Peppa Pig?”. Of course I can. I remember when I used to imagine like that. I would make anything into someone - a jar of mustard, a plant, utensils (knives and forks were boys and spoons were girls). My sister used to stare at me in the back of the car having conversations with my hands. I was lost in my own world most of the time. I remember how quickly I could look at an object and make up their story - when do we lose that?
Late morning, Kate found out the mass amount of groceries we had ordered on Saturday night, the ones that were cancelled via a glitchy website forcing her to go and do a mass shop yesterday, were in fact not cancelled and were ready for pick up! You guys, we have 24 bananas. For real. We have something like 14 avocados and so many apples and yams our counter looks like the produce section. This was not on purpose! Most grocery stores around us seem to be out of bread and meat, but we have lots of fresh produce… that will hopefully remain that way! I am not mad about it, but man it makes me think about people who are not in a financial position to “stock up” on groceries right now. I have also been thinking so much about those affected by the Tornado in Nashville (which we will get into later) who are still without a roof, or worse, a home during this crisis. As much work as Hazel is, I could not be happier about being quarantined with a kid that is so full of love and light and sees so much beauty in the world. She is my daily escape.
Nashville finally mandated the shut down of bars today, which is a relief. I am missing my friends there and trying to stay updated on what’s going on. The news is moving so fast. My parents live in a Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast, about a 2 hour commute from my sisters including a 40 minute ferry ride. It is my mom’s 65th birthday next Sunday and we all just happen to be in town! Surprise! We can’t visit until then anyway due to the 14 day self quarantine (did I mention we are only on day 2…) so the timing works out. Mom is wanting us to make ferry reservations now, but the truth is we have no idea if we will be able to leave our homes by the end of the week. We also have to watch for symptoms as my dad has Parkinson’s Disease and is at extremely high risk of getting sick. Experts say that the US, England and France are 9-10 days behind Italy in the COVID-19 progression. A pretty incredible video released by The Atlantic circulated today, in which several Italians recorded messages for themselves… 10 days ago. Watch it here.
This is frightening. I have friends who can’t pay rent next month. Friends who are afraid of losing their homes because they can’t afford their mortgage. Friends who are pregnant and scared they won’t have a hospital bed come due date. Every time I get overwhelmed with it all, I take a moment to reconnect with my breath and remind myself that we are incredibly resilient, and we will get through this together. Then I hug my niece.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day