Trial separation only way to survive pandemic
- col-teri-stein
- December 28, 2020
- 999
Did you ever discover something that works well and improves your life entirely by accident? I think I know how my husband, Joe, and I are going to survive our first winter stuck in the house together. Normally, we would all have plenty to keep us busy but not in this winter of COVID-19.
I was drinking my favorite soda last week and suddenly realized I could not taste it. I do not have to tell you what my first thought was. It seems like about half of everyone I know has either had COVID-19 or been in quarantine because of being exposed to someone who did.
I grabbed a mask and immediately put it on inside the house. I do not want Joe to get sick. COVID-19 may be just a minor annoyance for some, but for others it could be months in the hospital if not a death sentence. That is the problem with the virus: You just do not know how it is going to affect you.
I started hauling my stuff upstairs. It did not take long before I was set. Turns out I do not really need that much stuff. I took my computer, phone, snacks, case of bottled water, reading glasses, paper and pens, and my diary. Just because I feel more secure with all my stuff around me, I grabbed my camera bag and purse too.
The next day I called the doctor’s office. Because I did not have any other typical symptoms, they did not recommend a COVID-19 test. Still, I did not want to take any chances, so Joe and I are having a little trial separation.
For the most part, I stayed upstairs and napped, and Joe stayed downstairs. It worked out well. I would even say too well.
After a few days, I was feeling better and decided to break the separation and go downstairs. I needed to get back to writing.
“I can come down here and write,” I said, just to be nice and not wanting Joe to think I was going to totally abandon him.
Without hesitation he replied, “You can write upstairs.”
Well, the nerve, but truthfully, I was ready to go. It looks like the trial separation will continue, at least part-time. We are both enjoying it. What is not to love when you can watch whatever you want on TV without your spouse complaining.
While I was in my self-imposed mini-quarantine, I passed some time reading through my diary — the one I started on Feb. 22, 1998. Diaries are fun to write and more fun to read later in life.
This one turned into mostly a vacation diary over the years because that is when I had the most time to write. The rest of the stuff we do somehow ends up in a column, so I save those.
I was flipping through the diary, which is a large hard-cover book of 192 pages full of handwritten entries. It is amazing the things you can find in there. Like on June 22, 2011, Joe and I visited the Toledo Zoo, purchasing our tickets at 1:12 p.m. For some reason I stuck the tickets in my diary. In case there is another solar eclipse, I have two pairs of paper eclipse-watching glasses folded in there. There also are stickers, name tags from fun events, pieces of ribbon and notes.
There is a lot you can do with a diary to make it your own. I have handwritten the obituaries of two family members in my diary, just in case my other copies get misplaced.
When writing about family parties, I write down the names of everyone who was at the party because I’m not going to remember, and now I don’t have to. I can read about that wonderful New Year’s Eve party at my oldest brother’s home on Dec. 31, 1999, and know exactly who was in attendance. It is all right there in pink (my pen color choice of the day) and white.
And, of course, many pages are devoted to 9/11 and how we lived our lives during that time.
Near the end my diary goes back to 1984. I had a collection of old calendars to recycle, but I wanted to remember some important dates that were written there like the Michael Martin Murphy concert at Trumpet in the Land on June 10, 1991; Snowball (my sister’s cat) had kittens on Feb. 2, 1993; and the ever-fun jury duty on May 12, 18 and 20, 1999.
Now there are only three blank pages left, and it’s almost time to start a new diary. Isn’t it fitting that I will end this diary in 2020? Hopefully soon, I can turn back the pages to read how we have conquered COVID-19.
Many thanks to everyone in the medical field who has worked so hard to get us through this year and Merry Christmas to all.