Everyday is Groundhog
Day, more or less, and I find myself trying to stick to a routine of some
sort, which if you know me, know that I love structure and rigidity, so
having that helps me. When I wake up every morning, I only give myself
twenty minutes or so max to lay in bed before getting up, making my bed, getting showered and changed, to then move to the couch.
I’m still getting up pretty early and although I could easily lay in bed
all day, I’ve done that so much these last three months from being
post-surgery and always pre-new procedure, that I’m over it. I would
love nothing more than for my old routine of having my alarm go off at
five a.m., pop out of bed and get dressed for a run or bike ride. But I
can’t, so in order to save some sort of normalcy, I don’t like to lay
around in bed too much. The fact I’m even giving myself the 20-ish minutes is me
being flexible with myself, but I’ll allow it.
(Day
15) March 31: This morning we had our first full school staff meeting on google meet with the new updated
state E-learning standards. Since my school has been 1-to-1 all year
(meaning every kid has a laptop), there will not be much change for us at all.
And hey, guess what? My prediction of the kids with A’s and B’s being
the ones doing the work and the ones with F’s not even logging on, was
spot on, to no ones surprise.
My walk today
took me a little south to Streeterville. It was super windy and chilly,
but my friend and I wanted a little different route. The park and
running track over were still being used although all public parks are
legally closed. People were actually using the "gym equipment" over there with their bare hands and stuff. I couldn't believe it.
(Day 16) April 1: Another day with more TV, a walk, and some school work and a google meet meeting. On my walk
to Lincoln Park again, I noticed that the path to the zoo over the pond was now
been fenced off seeing that the yellow "caution" ribbon wasn’t actually
cutting it. They're getting stricter out there for obvious reasons. I also
got a call that my knee procedure (#4) was postponed again and now won’t
happen until May 22. This is now two months later than when I should
have it and although I feel my knee has improved a lot since the third
one, I can still barely bend it more than 45 degrees on my own.
(Day 17) April 2: It was gorgeous
out today again so after some school work at home, I decided to head out for a walk and to maybe get some color on the benches over in
Lincoln Park. I had a solid walk around Lincoln Park and some people
watching on the benches over there. I even took my work meeting on
google meet from the benches out there. With the weather so
inconsistent, I have to take advantage of the good days because they do
improve my mood tremendously.
(Day 18)
April 3: It was announced today that people in the US should start
wearing masks or face coverings out in public places. I found something online on how to use a bandana and hair ties to make a mask,
but when I made it, the hair ties wouldn’t stay over my ears. I tried
again with rubber bands and it worked so I will be using it the next
time I need to go to Walgreens or the grocery store. I also remembered I
have my running buffs that I wear on cold, windy days to protect
my face in the winter and those are also a good option, albeit not the
thickest material.
Also, it was gorgeous out
today and a friend and I spent over three hours over in Lincoln Park
walking around and people watching and chatting on the benches (six feet
apart). We had a very bizarre conversation with a random 20-something year old man who thought I looked familiar to him, but ended up being a stranger. He told us that he had been going on dates and hanging out at friends apartments when we politely told him that he definitely shouldn't be doing that, he told us we were brainwashed by the news and it's not that big of a deal. He also told us his sister was a nurse and things weren't that bad. I don't know what delusional world he is living in, but I am clearly not living in the same one. Our tone with him kept getting judgier and judgier with each thing he said, until the conversation ended and he ran away singing. It was weird to say the least.
One of the Park District cops came up to us because he saw my
knee brace and asked what happened. We were chatting him up about how
since they park is technically closed, and there are people, are they
just there to break up groups that may be forming and such. He said with
the nicer weather coming they even fenced off the basketball courts and
soccer field. After last Wed with all the crowds that cause the mayor
to shut down the lakefront and the parks, I’d hope people would’ve been
smarter. In all my walks this week, I’ve only seen like father/son
or BF/GF’s out there working out and that’s okay because they’re in the
same household. What was interesting though, was that we noticed that
not only did they fence it out, the city took out the soccer goal nets
and took down the entire rims on the basketball hoops. So they didn’t
just put up and fence and remove the nets, they unscrewed each and every rim so no one could even attempt to play. Smart. And aggressive. Way to go Lori.
I
still get sad when I see older people out and about walking slowly or
with their carts and now wearing masks on. It just makes me feel so bad
for them and how worried they must be because they are so vulnerable to
this virus. I mean, we all are at risk, and I love each day on edge and
anxious, but I just can’t imagine how scared they must be to go outside
around people. But also, they do need the fresh air just as much as
anyone else to maintain some normalcy.
That evening, one of the best movies ever, the American President, was
on TV so naturally I had to watch it. And man, did it make me wish we
had Andrew Shepard as our president instead of our dumbass-pathological liar-moron we have right now.
(Day
19) April 4: It’s Saturday and I’m officially on Spring Break, but this
day feels like any other day. It’s hard to keep track of the days of
the week and think of new things to try and do. But one thing is for sure, I need to get back to doing weights and abs so I started with that this morning and intend to make this a habit again. I was good the first week of quarantine and then I just got lazy. There is no other excuse and I've gotten so soft and gross over the course of the last few months that being lazy isn't going to cut it anymore. I did a Peloton app workout and some abs and went on a walk later in the day and before you know it, it was bedtime.
However, it was really hard to fall asleep tonight because my neighbors were either on a very loud Zoom chat or had people over. By 10:00 it was just getting louder and I could hear music and even though they are technically "allowed" to have people over (for a total of four in their apartment), it's not the safest thing to do right now or the most courteous. On a regular Saturday night for them to be that loud in a building like this is rude, but during quarantine, it's just unacceptable. I was tempted to call 311 or knock on their door, but I didn't. I stewed in my apartment for a bit before turning my TV louder to drown out their noise and then finally fell asleep.
(Day 20) April 5: Today was super sunny out, but chilly, but as long as we are still allowed to be outside and go for walks, I did just that. I actually met a friend at the park and we sat on the benches (six feet apart) catching up and chatting the whole time. That is, until the cops came through on their bikes yelling at everyone sitting to get up and go and telling everyone to just keep moving. We had been there almost two hours at that point and there had been cops around and park district cops as well and no one said a word to anyone. The parks department guy I had chatted with the other day even drove by twice and waved. I don't know why they were all of a sudden cracking down at that moment, but I definitely did not want to get in trouble or anything so we left immediately. I've been out so much that I am starting to get ankle tan lines from my leggings and some decent color on my face. If there is one pro to this, it's that I am not taking for granted the ability to easily get some fresh air so close to my apartment.
(Day 21) April 6: This morning was a trip to Trader Joes and it was a schlep. Since I don't feel comfortable taking public transportation or using Ubers/Lyfts right now, I had to walk there and back. Walking there was no big issue, but walking back home with all the groceries definitely was a struggle. I went there with a friend this morning and since the first hour of the store is for the elderly or those with disabilities, we got there a little before nine and were third in line to enter the store. I probably could've gone in the early hour because of my knee and my usage of Humira, but it wasn't a big deal to wait and Trader Joes seems to have a system all worked out. People line up outside six feet apart and they only allow a certain number of people in the store at once. They were fully stocked and had everything I needed. I wore my homemade bandana mask and latex gloves while shopping and they bagged everything for me. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the mayor waived the fee on in-store bags and most places don't want those bag (that could have a lot of germs) in their stores. I brought my own to put the Trader Joes bag in on my walk home because they are easier to carry. And man, they were heavy. I spent a lot of money on groceries that will hopefully last me 2-3 weeks.
When I got home, my shoulders and back were too sore from walking home with all the groceries and I was I was too overwhelmed to wipe down every single grocery package. However, afterwards, every time I touched a new grocery item, I felt like maybe I should have because what if it has coronavirus on it. I know I can only control what I can, but damn, what if?
This week overall felt straight out of a movie more than usual. With masks and gloves being more common place on people, it's still so surreal to me to see a lot of people out and about with them on. Additionally, the cops are seemingly being more present everywhere, which I guess is a good thing; keeping people in check. Yes, I've been outside a lot, but I keep my distance from people and try my best to be more than six feet apart from anyone and everyone.
Chicago is now three weeks in quarantine and we still haven't seen our peak. (I read somewhere today that we may do that on or around April 20.) This is extremely scary because if everyone has been inside and social distancing this long, our numbers shouldn't continue to rise too much more, but the reality is, they will. And every time my chest gets tight or my cough becomes a little too constant, I panic. Again, I can only control what I can and I am doing my best to do that. We all are. Stay positive, stay healthy, and stay safe.
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