On March 24th the governor of Washington State declared the “Stay Home. Stay Healthy” mandate.
“It’s time to hunker down in order to win this fight.
So, tonight, I am issuing a “Stay Home” order to fight this virus. This is Washington’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order. This includes a ban on all gatherings, and closures of many businesses, unless those businesses are essential to the healthy functioning of our community, or are able to let employees work remotely from home.”
https://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/stay-home-stay-healthy-address-transcript
I’ve decided to start an online journal, at least one paragraph a day during what I call “the lockdown.” Also, I am challenging myself to daily list the following, 1) an observed joy, 2) a real concern, 3) a personal challenge 4) one success (no matter how small) and 5) a random thought (no matter how silly)
Somehow, my employment luck returned. Since 2008, I struggled to find a job that offered longevity. Last spring, I landed two jobs that are listed as essential during the pandemic. The anchor job is in social services, working with families that are experiencing homelessness, the other is an administrative assistant position with a local Presbyterian church. Both organizations are a true joy to work for. The folks are calm headed, skilled, knowledgable, resourceful, dynamic and community-focused—perfect people to work for during a global crisis.
Although I am not dressed like a character in the Road Warrior, I do feel like one from time to time–washing my hands like a warrior! wiping down surfaces like a warrior! Offering 6 feet of social distancing…like a warrior! You know honestly, leather is easier to wipe down than cotton blends, just saying, if on the other end of all this we emerge draped in, like, leather togas or something, I’d be cool with it.
So, here I go…
Dearest journal,
Day 4 of the lockdown. 48 rolls of toilet paper. Phone on wi-fi to conserve data.
Great gobs of gratitude! My regular paycheck came yesterday. I am feeling very thankful and fighting the urge to cash it, put it in a sock under the mattress. I’ve been working from home for my housing job since Monday, March 16th as the organization started to observe a shelter in place policy. I grabbed a few essential files and my laptop, wiped down my desk with Clorox wipes, covered my pen holder and stapler with tissues, laying them to rest, and drove home. This week, somehow, I feel busier than usual. I’m hopping from zoom meetings, webinars, text and email conversations, between two laptops and my cell phone, throughout the day to keep the momentum of projects previously started. All the organizations I work with are functioning from home offices and somehow–miraculously– it is ALL working.
1) an observed joy- The crabapple tree framed by my bedroom window is showing the earliest green leaflets, bright green dots of spring.
2) a real concern- If the paychecks stop do I have enough food to cover the time between cash on hand is exhausted to unemployment relief arriving? The problem being the time range between these personal events is unknown; 2 weeks? 3 months? …unknown.
3) a personal challenge- remember to wait to grocery shop after 9:00 a.m. I hopped into the car to get cream for my coffee this morning about 8:15. In the parking lot, I realized it was the senior/high-risk shop time, went back home. I have moments when I forget everything has changed.
4) one personal success (no matter how small)- I convinced two cousins and my brother, all living in a county that touches King County, Seattle, to have a zoom conference this Sunday, check-in, share stories, and hopefully, uplift our spirits.
5) a random thought (no matter how silly)- for future elections, what if people could vote electronically through the pay point interface at the grocery store?
My friend Carla Shafer shared this video. Her experience and the video moved me. Please share if you are able:
On May 19, 2012, in Catalonia (Spain) a flash mob formed of local musicians showed up to play the “Ode to Joy” movement from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. You can view it at this link:
I cried as I watched it. I’m never sure what this kind of tears is about, maybe it comes from early childhood fears of being left alone, or maybe I hold some recent suppressed sense of loneliness. And it doesn’t matter. What matters to me is that I feel the feelings as authentic and as a release, and I am not embarrassed or ashamed (another carry-over from childhood).
I am grateful to have music from unexpected places. Lately, I’ve heard the Seattle Symphony’s streaming a free concert, and the Bellingham Symphony shared their dress rehearsal live on-line.
https://www.classicfm.com/composers/beethoven/news/beethoven-9-flashmob/
Youtube: https://youtu.be/kbJcQYVtZMo
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shannon p. laws 