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In the wise words of Joey Ramone:

20, 20, 20, 4, hours to go
I wanna be sedated
Nothing to do, nowhere to go, oh
I wanna be sedated

So, it’s been 54 days since we were told to “shelter in place”. That’s almost 8 weeks of working from home, ordering groceries, sanitizing, cooking, cleaning, watching Netflix, sanitizing, drinking all the cocktail kits, getting Friday night “curbside pick-up” from my favorite restaurants and sanitizing. Did I mention sanitizing? Yes, lots of that.

I am an introvert by nature. A shy, keep to myself, honest to goodness homebody. But THIS is getting to be a little much, even for me and in many ways, I was made for this crisis. I love doing things the old fashioned way. I love cooking. I hate the limelight. I am not a fan of public speaking. I tire of putting my “game face” on at work or being “on” all the time around people I don’t know well. If given a choice, I think I could stay home and read my books forever!

But…

I do miss seeing my mom everyday. I miss seeing my friends at our monthly “Diva Dinner”. I miss some of my co-workers. It would be nice to have the option to browse in a store or go grocery shopping like it’s not some sort of Navy Seal mission. Masks, antibacterial wipes, sunglasses? Check, check, check.

The longer times goes on, the more I am realizing our old life will be a memory. Kind of like how life changed after 9-11. Do you remember 20 years ago we used to travels without having to take off our shoes through security? That we used to go into our offices without needing to “swipe in”? A world without a constant scrolling news feed?

Are we ever going to go outside without masks again? Will we ever share a meal again? Will we ever shake hands or hug to greet each other again?

I learned something new during this pandemic. This is not my mother’s first pandemic. No I am not talking about that Spanish flu they keep talking about on the news. She isn’t that old. But in 1957 she says she remembered staying home from school for 3 months because of a strain of flu that originated from Singapore called H2N2 that also caused a global pandemic.

How am I just find out about this now? How have I been around my mother my whole life and she just casually mentions it to me now? I have been thinking about my grandfather. I wish I could talk to him. I wonder what things changed in his life in Greece after this pandemic? What things did he lament changing? Did life ever feel “normal” again?

The movie theater. I miss the movie theater. More than anything else, I miss going to a big dark movie theater with plush seats and surround sound. Just me, a bag of buttery popcorn and giant screen taking me on a journey. Netflix is ok. AppleTV is fine. They are good for binge watching one season after another of The Crown or Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, but it is not the same experience. Besides actually living the story yourself, a big movie screen experience will sweep you away in a story.

Gosh I miss Anthony Bourdain.

So, I have spent a lot of time cooking. What are you cooking? I made strawberry jam recently. Not that this was my intent. I was placing an online order on Instacart and instead of ordering two small packages of strawberries, I ordered two 32oz packages of fresh strawberries. That’s 4 lbs of strawberries! So I made jam with one of the packages.

I was surprised that I could order phyllo dough. So I decided I also needed to make 4,000 spinach and feta triangles, but with Swiss chard, so I guess Swiss chard and feta triangles, technically. I didn’t know how much a bunch of Swiss chard weighed so again I was surprised to find that I ordered what looked like entire field of Swiss chard. But no fear. In case you are wondering, two armfuls of Swiss chard successfully shrinks down to the palm of your hands once you sauté it. So I in fact did order just the right amount. When it comes to “greens”, always order more than you think you need, then add more. You won’t be sorry.

Also, it was Easter on April 19th, so I did Easter-type things. I didn’t feel very spring like, but I kind of tried to go through the motions. You know how they say “act as if, and it will be”. There is some truth to that. So I painted my Easter eggs red and baked a tsoureki. You know, it was the first time also painted “American style” pastel Easter eggs with some PAAs-like egg dye. I am not going to lie. Why? Why does anyone do it? Why does it take so long? I made a dozen red eggs in the same amount of time it took to make one pink, yellow and blue Easter egg. And the risk of getting color EVERYWHERE is exponentially high.

I streamed Easter services online for the first time in my life. In many ways it wasn’t bad. I could sit down with my cup of coffee while “watching” church. There was no getting dressed for church. No having to put my on my “game face” on or be “on”. Did I mention how much I hate putting on my “game face’?

Anyway, it did feel like Easter, kind of. Ok, not really.

I also set up a tent for my daughter in our living room, cuz why not? I have never been camping . That’s one of the many things in life I kind of wish I had done, but if I really were to search in the depths of my inner soul, I would find that I really have zero desire to go camping. I mean, I have been going to small Greek villages since the 70s and 80s when they still didn’t have electricity and all bathrooms were outhouses. So in many ways, haven’t I already been “camping”? What would I be proving by sleeping outside in a thin canvas tent on the hard ground with the very real risk of a bear snooping around? No thanks!

So pretend camping is where it’s at. We sit inside of it, with our pillows and little battery powered candles and read books and pretend there are monsters outside, a.k.a. my husband, Jeff. Roar.

So yeah, that’s what I have been doing to keep myself busy in between working from home, disinfecting groceries, and living blissfully in my jeans and a tee shirt. In the meantime, I will “act as if” I am a famous author writing the next great American novel.

Later,

Kallie ♥️