Lessons in quarantine

subtitled: I already had a medically fragile son, and now I have a medically fragile daughter. I got this.

Things I have learned during this pandemic:

1. I heat up one cup of coffee over and over again. It doesn’t seem to affect flavor. Does this mean I’m drinking cheap coffee? Also, I don’t drink nearly as much coffee as I thought. It pretty much amounts to 1-2 cups/day.
2. I shouldn’t keep Oreos in the house.
3. Instacart may be the best thing of 2020.
4. I can indeed live on coffee, Oreos, and Kraft Mac-N-Cheese. Also, Trader Joe’s frozen ham and cheese croissants.
5. Frozen 2 holds up to repeated, and I mean REPEATED, viewing. The music is superior to the first.
6. Frozen 2 also has a complex plot. After multiple, partial viewings, I am still not sure what’s happening. In summary: Elsa really lets loose, because at the end, her hair is completely free, and she has a new, super cool (pun intended) Ice Queen gown. Also, Anna is queen of Arendelle.
7. Oh, and every time I see the scene where Olaf melts and Anna sings “The Next Right Thing,” I cry. That song nails grief in a way that many others have failed to emulate.
8. Homeschooling two kids is no joke. Thanks to Buncombe Co Schools, Evaline has assignments to work on every day and some contact with her teacher. Hazel can’t read yet, and she has more difficulty staying on task, so I’m focusing on her.
9. I miss my job, my clients, my patients, and my colleagues.
10. Asheville is a ghost town. We went to chemo today, and it was eerily quiet on I-40.
11. Sunshine can do a tremendous amount for one’s mood.
12. I don’t have to know all the answers about COVID19. I don’t have to solve this problem. I can’t solve this problem. I need to just sit at home and do my part by taking care of my family.
13. Isolation for low counts isn’t that much different than isolation for COVID19.

Stay calm out there, be kind, Facetime your loved ones, and take up a new hobby. I suggest jigsaw puzzles. This will pass. It may pass like a kidney stone, as others have said, but it will pass.