#MyCorona

cute dog pic cuz she's my
favorite baby right now

Well, THIS is going to be interesting.

And by "interesting," I mean excruciating.

People, Rick and I are now trapped in a small house with three teenagers and a 21-year old male.  So essentially, four teenagers.  The fifth boy child is still away at college: his university is closed down, but he lives in a house, not a dorm, so for now, he's staying where he is. He is safer there than here in the Bay Area, where cases of coronavirus are growing.

It is true that when we heard the news today that as of midnight tonight we would be sheltering in place for the next three weeks -- along with 6.7 million other Bay Area residents -- my teenagers looked at me with equal parts horror and fury.  It took me about five seconds to recognize the look in their eyes, eyes pointed AT ME.  I knew what that look meant: it meant they were pissed AT ME for the shelter in place.

A tense silence hung in the air until I said: "Just remember, I personally did not decree this shelter in place, despite how you might be feeling or tempted to react."

One of my daughters pointed right at me and said: "I WILL BREAK YOU! I will NOT stay here for three weeks.  I WILL WEAR YOU DOWN AND I WILL LEAVE THIS HOUSE!"

Me: "So, this is starting off well."

• • • 

Today was tough.  One college kid home and pissed off that he can't go anywhere...one 7th grader bumping through the process of figuring out how to do "distance learning" on the computer...one senior in high school confronting the possibility of no prom, no graduation ceremony, no final spring soccer season, no life...one child sick and, yes, feverish, and one doctor-by-phone-appointment to determine that she likely has a sinus infection...one proposal deadline for the job I'm still responsible for...and one shelter-in-place order throwing a giant curveball over all of it.

Rick went to the closest grocery store shortly after the shelter-in-place was announced, and spent 30 minutes shopping and almost two hours standing in line waiting to get to the cashier.  Never fear though, he brought home 9 bags of chips and a whole lotta beer: I'd marry him all over again today. (In his defense, the store was completely out of everything that was actually on our list: EVERYTHING.)

I went to pick up a prescription for the sinus infection, and the scene at our local Kaiser hospital was surreal: a triage center out in front, people pulling up to the curb looking very very sick, everyone in masks, lots of health care workers shouting directions to everyone.

It's almost time for bed here, and Rick just said to me: "Well, we made it through one day!"  I had to remind him that yes, we did make it through one day, but the three-week process actually starts tomorrow, so...

These are strange times.  We are all going through something monumental both together and alone.  One thing is certain: the next three weeks will be a fascinating study in family life, the good, the bad and the ugly.  Can a person be both subject and researcher at the same time?  

We shall find out!

• • •