I’m back to hunkering down. Studying birds online via Cornell. Daily walks with our dog. Yesterday my spouse woke up feeling lousy and developed a fever which broke at 11 pm. Grateful we have space for quarantine. Lonely but surviving. Hoping if enough of us stay involved we come out of this with a functioning democracy. We can do this.
Thank you. So far I’m fine. Went to grocery store this am in mask AND face shield. Don’t give a damn what anyone thought. This feeling is freeing I must say!
I have also "gone to ground" again. Staying away from indoor public spaces, double masking if they cannot be avoided. Planning next years gardens, researching (and sometimes joining) online advocacy groups, knitting, reading, missing my in-person lunches with my grown children. I am an introvert but (as someone wiser than me reminded me) I still need to be with other people. Like Gayle, I am connected with Cornell's birding app; also like Gayle, I worry about and have hopes for this democracy. Courage my dears.
I'm okay with going back to the old ways for a short while. There were a lot fewer decisions to make then. Stay home. Make short, surgically precise trips to the supermarket once a week, go for a walk in the morning. My friends who have hosted a NYE party for many years, wisely decided not to do that this year. I watch the hospitalization rates, and when they come down again, I'll go back to worrying about eating indoors.
We stayed home on New Year's. Okay, we always do. Lori calls it amateur night. We ate take out sushi and watched The French Dispatch. The sushi was great, the movie was kind of meh. My school is, up to now, planning on in-person classes. We shall see. I am lucky because I am not scheduled to teach until March, but unlucky because I am an interim Chair and might have to show up in-person because of that. Overall we are are incredibly lucky and privileged people who can hunker down without many problems. I will go to the grocery store today and I will be double-masked. But it is indeed a return to last March's anxiety.
I keep reminding myself that my challenges aren’t insurmountable. I still have a job. And my health. And people I deeply love (those are not in order).
Thank gawd I'm self amusing. I've never been so glad I work at home. Had to bail on an in-person meeting, just didn't want to take the chance. Jut when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.
I will utilize pretesting before gathering with a few people. I had no bubble and don't do well with isolating for too long (though did it a year ago). I know up to 3 hands worth of people who got sick with COVID over the last few weeks. I don't want to get it or spread it or give it opportunity to mutate in me. I am looking for a safe way to navigate thru. I'm grateful for vaccines, boosters, and home tests, a year later after that dark winter.
It’s a time for reflection, how can I use these days/weeks? Well my broom closet may be featured in HouseBeautiful. Next is my sewing room so I can start new projects! Stay well everyone
Life in our bubble is busy in our house-hive with reading, writing, cleaning, gardening, phone calling, emailing, trying out new recipes. We're in the Orlando, Florida area. A COVID-case capital at the moment. Sigh.
After a few controlled and tested get togethers over the holidays, we’re back to pre-vaccine level precautions. We were on a video call with friends on the west coast on Friday who had participated in a few gatherings similar to ours. They’re fine but they said that while they had thought they were doing responsible risk assessment that they realized after it was more like Russian roulette. That comment spooked us a little. After this long it’s easy to slip a little without thinking.
That being said, we’ve come this far. The only way is forward like a shark. A masked, socially distanced shark.
We never stopped being careful. Our care is somewhat impaired by Chun Woo being in high school and Sheeyun needing to travel periodically for work. And while we were always careful, we were never wiping down everything before it came into the house, and I went out to get groceries.
Having got through pre-vax COVID and then breakthrough COVID (presumably delta) I am now double-masking because I'd rather not collect the whole set. We have all had our boosters: Sheeyun's should fully have kicked in. Chun Woo and I will have next week.
I not only have plenty of in-house projects, I have a mini-farm to work on when it's not too frozen or snowy. (Oh, please, Lord, more snow!!!!!) So I'm lucky.
Except for the part where Chun Woo is having an extreme* emotional experience regarding his new school and his needs as a student and is embracing it and thus making it worse through avoidance routines. Back into that breech today, though only briefly if he decides he prefers barracking to working.
* Having done the same thing as a teenager under different circumstances, I know that he is making it more extreme than it needs to be, though I honor the fundamental discomforts and their expression.
Extended response: When one's children/dependents are young o otherwise capacity-limited, it is very important to pull one's punches: it's so easy to abuse one's leverage. I still try to be careful-- in my view, I wasn't as successful as my standards demand last night-- as the children/dependents gain autonomy, but the need to pull the power from the conversation decreases over time.
I’m back to hunkering down. Studying birds online via Cornell. Daily walks with our dog. Yesterday my spouse woke up feeling lousy and developed a fever which broke at 11 pm. Grateful we have space for quarantine. Lonely but surviving. Hoping if enough of us stay involved we come out of this with a functioning democracy. We can do this.
I believe we can. Important things are rarely easy. Does Cornell offer an online birding course?
Yes and they are very good! Reasonably priced.
Pulling for everyone in your house to be healthy.
Thank you. So far I’m fine. Went to grocery store this am in mask AND face shield. Don’t give a damn what anyone thought. This feeling is freeing I must say!
Gayle, hope your other is ok. If you haven’t yet, download BirdNet, Cornell’s bird sound identification app. It’s way cool.
Thanks Paul. Will do!
Who could know after 50 years of marriage, we were confined to the same air.
I breathed it in and fell in love again.
That’s beautiful. I mean that.
I have also "gone to ground" again. Staying away from indoor public spaces, double masking if they cannot be avoided. Planning next years gardens, researching (and sometimes joining) online advocacy groups, knitting, reading, missing my in-person lunches with my grown children. I am an introvert but (as someone wiser than me reminded me) I still need to be with other people. Like Gayle, I am connected with Cornell's birding app; also like Gayle, I worry about and have hopes for this democracy. Courage my dears.
Courage, indeed. I'm in a Coursera course about financial markets. Why not?
I'm okay with going back to the old ways for a short while. There were a lot fewer decisions to make then. Stay home. Make short, surgically precise trips to the supermarket once a week, go for a walk in the morning. My friends who have hosted a NYE party for many years, wisely decided not to do that this year. I watch the hospitalization rates, and when they come down again, I'll go back to worrying about eating indoors.
Yep. Same here. I’ve started a slew of home projects that just may get me through.
We stayed home on New Year's. Okay, we always do. Lori calls it amateur night. We ate take out sushi and watched The French Dispatch. The sushi was great, the movie was kind of meh. My school is, up to now, planning on in-person classes. We shall see. I am lucky because I am not scheduled to teach until March, but unlucky because I am an interim Chair and might have to show up in-person because of that. Overall we are are incredibly lucky and privileged people who can hunker down without many problems. I will go to the grocery store today and I will be double-masked. But it is indeed a return to last March's anxiety.
I keep reminding myself that my challenges aren’t insurmountable. I still have a job. And my health. And people I deeply love (those are not in order).
Thank gawd I'm self amusing. I've never been so glad I work at home. Had to bail on an in-person meeting, just didn't want to take the chance. Jut when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.
**Just**
I will utilize pretesting before gathering with a few people. I had no bubble and don't do well with isolating for too long (though did it a year ago). I know up to 3 hands worth of people who got sick with COVID over the last few weeks. I don't want to get it or spread it or give it opportunity to mutate in me. I am looking for a safe way to navigate thru. I'm grateful for vaccines, boosters, and home tests, a year later after that dark winter.
Stay well everyone! Happy New Year!
Lots and lots of testing and using my head. We will get through this.
I LIKE that. A shark.
It’s a time for reflection, how can I use these days/weeks? Well my broom closet may be featured in HouseBeautiful. Next is my sewing room so I can start new projects! Stay well everyone
Life in our bubble is busy in our house-hive with reading, writing, cleaning, gardening, phone calling, emailing, trying out new recipes. We're in the Orlando, Florida area. A COVID-case capital at the moment. Sigh.
Pulling for you…
After a few controlled and tested get togethers over the holidays, we’re back to pre-vaccine level precautions. We were on a video call with friends on the west coast on Friday who had participated in a few gatherings similar to ours. They’re fine but they said that while they had thought they were doing responsible risk assessment that they realized after it was more like Russian roulette. That comment spooked us a little. After this long it’s easy to slip a little without thinking.
That being said, we’ve come this far. The only way is forward like a shark. A masked, socially distanced shark.
We never stopped being careful. Our care is somewhat impaired by Chun Woo being in high school and Sheeyun needing to travel periodically for work. And while we were always careful, we were never wiping down everything before it came into the house, and I went out to get groceries.
Having got through pre-vax COVID and then breakthrough COVID (presumably delta) I am now double-masking because I'd rather not collect the whole set. We have all had our boosters: Sheeyun's should fully have kicked in. Chun Woo and I will have next week.
I not only have plenty of in-house projects, I have a mini-farm to work on when it's not too frozen or snowy. (Oh, please, Lord, more snow!!!!!) So I'm lucky.
Except for the part where Chun Woo is having an extreme* emotional experience regarding his new school and his needs as a student and is embracing it and thus making it worse through avoidance routines. Back into that breech today, though only briefly if he decides he prefers barracking to working.
* Having done the same thing as a teenager under different circumstances, I know that he is making it more extreme than it needs to be, though I honor the fundamental discomforts and their expression.
Wow. It’s so hard for the younger people. You and yours are in my heart.
It got better after a bit of honest and respectful ferocity.
Respectful ferocity.
Yeah. It's hard to be heard without emphasis.
I am fortunate in my son, who remains a shining star among distraught 17-year-olds.
Extended response: When one's children/dependents are young o otherwise capacity-limited, it is very important to pull one's punches: it's so easy to abuse one's leverage. I still try to be careful-- in my view, I wasn't as successful as my standards demand last night-- as the children/dependents gain autonomy, but the need to pull the power from the conversation decreases over time.