There are a lot of memes on social media that feature confusion about what day it is. As someone who is still working part-time (albeit from home), I have to make an effort to know if it's, say, Thursday vs. Monday. But the days do blend together, and there is a certain Groundhog Day repetition that sets in. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon walk, dinner, TV, bedtime. On rare days, I actually leave the house for short trips in my car. (That said, I have not bought gas since mid-March.) Life goes on, but its pace and punctuation marks have changed.
Some things that have recently differentiated one day from another:
· Curbside grocery pick-up day—woohoo
· The lawn, newly mulched and mowed
· Discovery of Costco Instacart—TP delivered to my door was a major victory
· Resumption of (socially distanced) services by my dog’s groomer: my formerly shaggy puppy’s got her groove back
· A visit to the car wash (it felt so normal to restore a much-needed shine)
· Daffodils in full bloom, with peonies on their way
· Snow (wait, what?!)
· Return of the goldfinches, their cheery yellow darting through greening branches
· Weekly Zoom get-togethers with my siblings and children (“hold on a sec, you’re still muted”)
Many of us thrive on a predictable routine, but it can be equally rewarding to safely break out of one! What punctuates time for you during these semi-dystopian days? -SB
