on life at home
It’s early april in 2020 and I’m writing the first blog post in this new space. All I can think about is the dailyness of being at home under stay-at-home self-quarantine orders issued by PA’s governor for the covid-19 pandemic — so that’s what I’ll write about. here are some things I’ve been doing at home:
making and eating lots of pizza. Though it seems that it’s safe, we aren’t buying carryout food from local restaurants because of my anxiety and because we don’t want to spend extra money right now. this recipe for grandma pizza from king arthur flour is the best pizza I’ve ever made at home — have already made it three times while under stay-at-home orders, and plan as many more as I can get my hands on flour and yeast. It’s extra good if you make marcella hazan tomato sauce to go with it.
watching comforting television and action movies. Schitt’s Creek has been a good, easy presence in the background of my days, and Isaiah and I decided to watch the Mission Impossible series, my first time through. Watching the first movie with it’s high energy action really took my mind off the stress
doing work, but not too much. I’ve been dealing with lots of fatigue because my anxiety has me very stressed and tense. I can only manage about four hours of focused work each day, which is much less than before. Trying to continue working but adjust my expectations of how much I will accomplish any given day. I’m also trying to prioritize work that feels energizing and low-stakes, so I’m not piling on any extra stress.
getting lots of sleep. I’ve been tired, so I’ve been sleeping — not setting an alarm and seeing what time I wake up. It’s usually around 7:30, and I think it’s really good for me.
walking Bobo everyday. It’s really good to get out of the house and take my walk, though it’s a little more stressful than it used to be. More people are out walking than usual making it hard to dodge and keep Bobo calm enough to keep a safe 6ft distance from everyone. Today, trying to stay away from someone across the street, I walked right by an open car window with someone inside without noticing. I wish I could go somewhere and know I’d be totally alone, but such is not life in a city.
listening to music and also being silent. this playlist has felt good lately. I also try to dance a little every day.
organizing projects with far-away friends. I was feeling sad to miss holy week with my church this year, so I invited other poet friends to work on a collaborative anthology project for the Great Vigil of Easter — it will be available as an ebook for free soon!
trying to stay on top of laundry and dishes. otherwise I’ll go crazy! It’s harder with my low-energy feelings, but it also feels good to keep things afloat.
doing my best to not spiral in worry. It’s hard though!
playing animal crossing — honestly this has been one of the best stress relievers throughout this weird season and I’m so grateful it came out when it did!
reading, but really only in little bits. I can’t focus on anything for very long so I haven’t been good at reading anything very long. It’s been good to read books slowly, and to read poems too.