We hit the 100 day mark this weekend since California found itself in lockdown. I shared a life update on our travel blog here if you want the full story. But we are officially residents of San Diego now. It’s strange and exciting.
My friend, Steph, wrote this post about the things she wanted to remember about these strange times in quarantine. I realized that life has done some strange shifts in the last 100 days and there are some details I want to hang on to.
Thoughts about 100 days in quarantine I want to remember:
The marketing work that has gone into reminding people of the CDC guidelines is impressive. I have laughed at so many different posters, floor stickers, memes and t-shirts that take on the important message of wearing masks and social distancing. The posters pictured above are on the windows near the Target we go to in South Park.
I became even more grateful for the choices I’ve made regarding personal care. I stopped coloring my hair almost a decade ago and have never been someone that enjoys manicures or pedicures. This transition into everything being closed was much easier for me thanks to these choices.
Siri and I have finally reached a relationship that works for both of us. While she/he doesn’t ever answer my questions correctly, things like this are helpful. My phone no longer pops up breaking news alerts with Trump’s name in them.
I have reconnected with friends I haven’t talked to in years. Some of it was thanks to the additional conversations about racism in this country, some of it was before that when we had time to devote to two hour zoom calls.
Restaurants and bars will not be on my list of places to visit for a while. I don’t really care if we can. It’s seems stupid to go inside and share space with lots of people while the number of COVID cases continues to climb. We learned that it is just wonderful to either order takeout or pack a picnic and park our car somewhere beautiful and have a picnic. We went to Morley Field last weekend when it was reopened and sat outside for hours. This is our new “out to eat” and I love it.
My mind has spent a lot of time just floating. It’s been harder than ever to read, watch TV or process information. The last month has seemed to get a little better, but for a while, I would just refresh Twitter nonstop and my mind would drift off to an unknown location. I didn’t think I was capable of just sitting, but these last 100 days have told me that when it’s necessary – I can stay still and just try to process.
Celebrations are weird AF. We both celebrated our birthdays at the end of May. It was so great to be with our little quarantine family because they do birthdays with balloons dumped over your head in the morning, lots of baking and we were even surprised with some gifts. Watching people do drive by birthdays, graduations, showing new babies through windows and zoom weddings. Technology has made it possible to still “gather” but it makes me wonder if we will appreciate those hugs and small moments together more in the future. I’m hopeful.
It isn’t just celebrations done differently. We watched a Black Lives Matter protest that was done all in cars. They drove by 10 different places in San Diego with signs, music blasting and lots of cheering supporters along the route. It was hours long. We stood next to a grandmother and her two grandchildren and listened to them discuss what the future of the country looks like.
The news is also on more than ever before. With so much going on, it is easy to just get sucked in for hours. I used to insist on some phone free days, but we are watching the country fall apart. It’s so important to stay engaged, to participate, to learn and help in anyway possible. I think I’m going to get back into a Sunday newspaper subscription to have a way to slowly sort through everything and hear from new voices. It’s more important than ever to stay engaged and know what’s happening, I just have to keep working on different ways to do that aside from the constant Twitter refresh.
I notice the little details much more now. I know which birds are outside by the sounds they make. We did a deep dive into Mourning Doves after a pair of them made a nest in our backyard. The mom and dad switch off in 12 hour shifts sitting on the nest and we know what time they change each day. That’s the mom sitting on our roof in the picture above.
It’s not just birds. I have also identified the optimal route through the neighborhood to see all my favorite front yard dogs. Watching all the colorful flowers bloom was a happy welcome to Southern California as well. I hope I keep the attention to details because I have enjoyed our daily walks so much with all the extra things to see.
This tiny moment is one I want to lock away. Our godchild lives just a few blocks away from my mom with his parents and baby sister. My mom also takes daily walks and noticed the hearts they had put in their window at the beginning of quarantine. She made sure to send me a picture to pass along. The next week, she walked on the side of the street closer to them and saw this little message to her written in chalk. It reminded me how often people do little acts of kindness that make big differences. It’s rare that you get to be an outsider looking in on this, so I felt so lucky.
I definitely hate doing dishes. They never end when all your meals are made at home. It was a blessing that we didn’t have jobs at the beginning of this because I would have ordered take out every day.
What is something you want to remember from this strange slow time?
Also, please wear your mask, stay home as much as you can and sign this petition because there still hasn’t been justice for Breonna Taylor.
