EVERY DAY IS THE SAME DAY. Which is pretty much the exact opposite of the lesson I set out to teach myself with this photo project. Maybe looking back months from now Week Fifteen will stand out to in some kind of way. After all, it is the week they announced they’re pushing this “pause” through to the end of April now. Sigh.
It feels like we’re in some kind of time warp. Everything is moving so fast and going nowhere…
Sunday
Olaf is happy the weather is warming. So are we. It means we don’t have to feel quite so trapped.
Monday
Amanda had some news that required a face to face. We’ve both been pretty much holed up at home, so we felt it was safe to take a walk together… I must admit, though, that I was kind of nervous. This is a little unlike me — I’m usually unperturbed by things other find anxiety-inducing. I guess my neurologist’s warnings were ringing in my ears… But I swallowed that fear and let her hug me. Let the fourteen-day countdown begin again.
Tuesday
The sign is thanking our essential workers. That’s nice. The tree seems to be asking why — why is the world so upside down right now? And why have you maimed me in this way? Or maybe it’s answering the question. This is why the world is upside down right now. You have maimed me just as cavalierly as you wreaked havoc and devastation all over. You are all in Time Out right now. Stay in your rooms and think about what you have done to this earth.
Wednesday
I drink a lot of tea these days, mostly while I write. I make it a special experience, with my Moroccan mint tea leaves and wild blueberry sugar, because I have the time to. And really, shouldn’t we try to make everything an experience? Even if it’s a small one? Otherwise we’re just getting by, muddling through, sleepwalking through life, and all the other mundane cliches you can think of.
Thursday
My whale mug encouraged me while I slogged through a chapter that’s been troubling me.
Friday
I lost track of the day and I don’t have a real concept of how long we’ve been in this “intelligent quarantine,” as they’ve branded it in the Netherlands (Thanks Jantien for that nugget of info). It’s been nice that people I’ve met on my travels have been checking in with each other, though. It’s crazy how widespread this is. People I met in Morocco and Portugal who live in Australia and the UK and all across Europe have been sending messages of love, reporting that they’re safe, and talking about their own lockdown experiences.
Mine has mostly consisted of Sam getting in my way.
Saturday
Hey look. It’s Sam again. Getting in my way again.