SUNDAY

When I opened my eyes this morning I was struck by the finite number of possibilities stretching before me on this lovely Sunday. The 8th day of social isolation arrived with a hint of cabin fever. It would truly be amateur hour if I were to reference Bill Murray and his Ground Hog Day movie, but I guess I just did.

We need to step up our game today and make some changes to the (non-existent) schedule. For instance, today I will put on pants. Maybe go for a bike ride. Perhaps I'll spend an inordinate amount of time coaxing my son to leave his room or, alternatively, to speak. He is currently mostly non-verbal. It's hard to keep inviting, suggesting, and coaxing people to join and not begin to feel deflated.

Yesterday, when I was reviewing the grocery order, I asked him what, if anything, I could put on the list for him. Something that will make you happy, I said. He asked for Mexican soda. Not just plain ol' soda, but Mexican soda in very specific tropical flavors. Just a tiny bit of excitement washed over his face. I saw it there, I swear. Then, knowing full well that Peapod does not carry or deliver his brand of Mexican soda, I entered his very specific request in the search bar and pressed enter anyway. Hope is a good thing.

In the end, he settled on the decidedly more pedestrian, Dr. Pepper. 

If that's the worst of his problems right now, that's cool. I'll take it.

So far, the biggest take-away I have from this week in social isolation is that outside of this moment, I am truly socially isolated in this town that I live in. It’s small and it’s beautiful, but it has been very lonely. It has been hard to live here. Have you ever had that feeling where you want to go home again?