Don’t panic!

Covid19.
Schools closed for at least 5 weeks - until 4/20.
Our administration's ineptitude is being further exposed by this unprecedented state of emergency.
And yet many seem unable or unwilling to see that the mans pants are on fire... or they remain convinced that it is not damaging to put the nations fate in the hands of someone who is demonstratively unstable and incapable of his job.

But i didn’t come here to talk about him... and that mess.
I came to say that in this time of social distancing and struggling to make safe choices and understand the extent of our risks and challenges i am going to make the effort to write more and share more, to process... to put words and voice to virtual paper as some kind of call of community and hope...

I have been trying to approach this thing with reason and rationality, with wit and humor, with prudence and caution, with care and vigilance. I have been trying to keep the crazy in check... at my most paranoid i consider how quickly self social distancing and self quarantines could transition to a police state... at my most paranoid i think about what it would feel like to need to carry papers proving my health and reason for traveling the next time i need to travel... or leave the house... what it would feel like to have those papers checked... I can’t help but think that at the very least this episode will have a grave impact on our future, on the economy, on medicine, on law enforcement and governing, on supply chains and public art and entertainment. I think it will be some time before we can even begin to measure the ramifications economically, culturally, politically.

But I didn’t come here to talk about all of that worry, or those big ideas.
I came here to talk about our day to day. To share how we’re getting through each day. How we’re keeping in touch with loved ones and how we’re keeping sane as a family and what these days are looking like for us.

Late in the week last week we hit the stores for some “in case we get quarantined” supplies. I laughed at the empty toilet paper aisles and the folks stockpiling chef-boy-are-dee. But my laughter was tinged with doubts and questions. We’ve been back to the store a couple more times for toothpaste and other odds and ends.! Yesterday we let the kids know that school was shutting down and they took it hard - all processing in their different ways... Lil’chaos with some lashing out, frustration and disappointment, Zilla with raw emotion and worry, and Zuzu in her quiet and questioning way... We let them know that we are working on a plan to create some routine and structure in this time and that the plan will be in place to help us all remain safe and sane. We spent the rest of the day sorting Girl Scout cookies and flopping around the house - with a few trips out to get air and exercise. Today was a little more intentional. Today we walked along the river and hit the library before they shut down indefinitely. We are fully stocked for books if we go on lockdown!