Hello friends!
Does anyone else feel like a camera crew from Netflix should be following us around? Like we are secretly being filmed for the first season of “Shelter in Place”? Like this really can’t be our life right now… but it is.
I tend to process events and information a little slower than the avenge Joe. It has taken until this week, the week of April 6th, for me to start feeling the weight of COVID-19.
For the purpose of storytelling and to make a heavy subject a little lighter, let’s just go with the Netflix theme.
SEASON ONE
Episode 1 (Pilot): “Sidelined”
For weeks I had been working on plans for my oldest daughter’s wedding, a trip to England for Eric and myself, and my kids’ spring break camp. During this time I developed a health issue that was putting me out of commission. I had wonderful friends who came to my aid. They got busy finishing wedding planning. All of our plans have to been sidelined by a virus.
Episode 2: “Six Feet Apart”
The week of my daughter’s wedding, I am sick and we are being hit by a pandemic. With each passing day leading up to the wedding, I have to make the guest list smaller and smaller. I have to take one of those days to take IV fluids at the doctor’s office due to being sick. After being replenished, we move forward with the help of friends. We go from full-on wedding plans to just the very basics. We put out just a few chairs and spread them 6 feet apart. My friends hang the sweetest lanterns in trees and put flowers on the pergola. We encourage friends and family not to hug the bride. We cancel the indoors reception and cut the cake outside instead. Some very dear people had to miss out on this special day. Today I feel the loss of that. However, Lexie and Shane still drove away married and happy as they could be.
Episode 3: “No News”
The Monday after the wedding, I have an upper scope done at the hospital… only to reveal no new answers. The doctor said I would not remember my frustration with the news he gave us once the anesthesia wore off… but oh, I do remember mister! Yes, I do.
Episode 4: “You Are the Teacher”
Oh, people!!! We all feel this pain. Don’t get me wrong… I love my kids just like you do. And maybe homeschooling could be an option. The problem is, most of us had not planned for it… yet here it is with all its stresses and unknowns. I am guessing that as soon as we stop yelling and figure out a plan, this season will be over and we will all be thrown back into life feeling even more confused. I wonder how many teachers are going to hear “But my mom said do it this way!” Especially with math. That’s what happens when you give mom the ruler and stapler.
Episode 5: “Essentials Only”
Only people who are “essential” are allowed to roam the Earth. The rest of the humans must stay in unless they are going to buy “essential” things. It is really confusing. It feels like half the world is free. I go to buy milk and I see people everywhere! Like, “Did I get the wrong memo? Are we still locked in? What’s going on?” So I stick to my lines. I am not essential. I must stay in my yard till I go buy essential things like coffee, cherry limeades, chocolate cake, and other important things.
Episode 6: “Shortage”
Hospitals are running out of supplies. In bigger cities, they are running out of room for sick people. The morgue is out of space in hard-hit places. Ships have been brought in. Hospital supplies are being made by companies that make cars. So far, my sweet town is holding on. It is hard to comprehend what our sister states are facing. The news cannot do this story justice because there seem to be wrong motives behind every report. My heart breaks for lives lost. My heart breaks for those who have to say goodbye at tiny funerals. My heart breaks for those who feel the shortage to a degree that I may never know.
Episode 7: “Mom! Are You OK?”
So now our children have been super close to one another (and me) in our space for about a month. When we dream of family time, we dream of crafts and games and laughing around the dinner table. That has all come true, right? I know my son has to enjoy the amount of times I have yelled at him to remove the headset and get off Fortnite. I have enjoyed picking up his apple cores that I find in random places around the house after he eats the whole bag of apples I bought just yesterday. My makeup is on its last leg from my 11-year-old putting on full Hollywood glam with the help of YouTube. My 14-year-old finds something “essential” that must be done every day so she can get out of the house. Only… she cannot drive and must have me do said “essential” things with her. For some reason, I am like a flower and my kids are like bees. They swarm around me ALL DAY. I try to hide, but they find me. I can’t even cry in peace. So my kids are learning sides of me that are ugly, sides that I could hide with space. But with that space removed I see them looking at me, thinking, ”Is that woman OK?”
Episode 8: “Stop and Process!”
This is where I am. I would encourage you in this time to write your thoughts down. It does not have to be elaborate. At this time in our lives, we are facing traumatic events. You may not even feel highly affected, but in some way you are. Writing it down gives your head space to clear and your heart time to process. Make up your on Netflix series. Give it a name and let your thoughts go! What Netflix series are you living in?
