NOTHING CLEVER

I don’t think I’ve been this clean since last time my mother bathed me in the sink. In the same vein, I thought I would do well enough in quarantine. I live alone and we have a good relationship. There is comfort in the isolation, me inside and the virus out there. But the possibility that I brought the virus in with me makes the solitary time tense like nothing else. One week into the quarantine it’s good that I have no symptoms but there’s another week to go before that tension goes away. 

So what do I do to stay positive and take care of business? Keeping clean/sanitary of course, watch some TV but not too much. That goes without saying. I have a niece in Florida who lives alone. We have been exchanging good morning emoji texts for some time. It is a convenient way to let someone know that you are up and around. People who spend as much time alone as we do, it covers a gap in the social construct that solitary folks understand while multiple dwellers have no reason to think about it. My niece and I now talk on the phone for a while every day; helps diffuse boredom and meets the need to interact. Living alone isn’t being alone if you can maintain your contacts and move about.

Preparing food garners more attention than when you had so many options. My cupboard is stocked but I think about shelf life on fresh stuff and plan ahead more than before. I have cabbage that needs to be incorporated every day. My little crockpot has rice and beans soaking now with some cabbage, brussel sprouts and carrots, maybe some toasted almonds to go in when I plug it in. That yields 2 full meals that can be frozen. Then I have a big bag of spring salad in the refrigerator and 3 small avocados. I just learned that you can freeze avocados and I’ll do that as they ripen. 

Writing demands undivided attention and so, there you are. This blog has many functions, none more important than providing me with a sense of purpose. It doesn’t matter if anybody reads it, it just needs to be written. I think how many times I’ve cautioned others or been cautioned, the world is a dangerous place. That was true enough but largely rhetorical. I remember a commercial on TV from the 1970’s, a butter substitute was offered up to Mother Nature who sampled it and gave tacit approval. When she learned of the deception she was indignant, called down lightning bolts and made the earth shake. An omniscient voice chimes in with, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” Human Nature drives us to fool around with Mother Earth and sometimes she responds with bad news. Not saying we deserve a pandemic but too late to make excuses or place blame. All I can do is keep busy, beg for mercy if you think she might be listening, and trust the health care experts. 

I’ve been up going on 5 hours. We have sunshine and a mild day before rain comes in tonight. I walked 50 minutes in the neighborhood yesterday, hope to go longer today. The ‘Stay at home’ directive has been given some teeth. It’s more than a recommendation now. Unlike Italy, they won’t send violators to prison and it’s alright to walk for exercise, maintaining social distancing but the serious ultimatum is, stay at home. A clever comment here would seem in order but making clever right now is like nailing jello to the wall. If ‘clever’ takes shape like a soap bubble in the tub then I can take some comfort there. But I can stir the pot all day and nothing clever comes of it.