Day 6

Well, today was eventful! I woke up to a message from my sister on my phone– she had taken a pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE! ! This is something she and her husband were planning on long before anyone ever heard of Covid-19. I’m so happy for them but I worry, too. As all pregnant women are considered immunocompromised, she has just become part of the at risk population. May God protect her always. She and her sweet, little family are so dear to me. Marc’s brother’s wife is expecting, too. They shared their news with us a few weeks back. We are blessed.

Well then I turned on MSNBC in our room while I got myself together. They were airing Gov. Cuomo’s press conference out of New York. Damn, I wish that guy was the president! He really seems to have his finger on the pulse of this thing. But the main and most shocking takeaway was him and his assembled team of experts asserting that the situation could “peak” in 45 days. 45 days (!!!) WTF. I’m supposed to keep us all cooped up for that long and beyond? Keep Granny convinced to stay the course for that length of time? Jarring.

Oh, then I remembered it happened to be St. Patrick’s Day. Every day is a celebration around here so I tend to go all out. The house is decorated accordingly. I had little green outfits planned to dress my boys in–spoiler alert! We stayed in various combinations of our pajamas all day. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Living our best self isolating life, what can I say?

I did get a festive meal planned– sheet pan sausage, potatoes, and peppers. I updated our weekly meal prep board. Thad helped me mix up the green dyed filling for lemon bars while Hart played happily. I spoke with my best girlfriend in Denver. She is so sweet and understanding. It is a comfort to be on the same page and share all these feelings with each other. We provided updates on our various craziness. At one point I cried to her. She comforted me. Grateful for that friendship. I laid the boys down for afternoon naps and handed the baby monitor over to Marc working from his “office” in the front room. I had ran a super hot bath. Opened the window and listen to birds chirp and sing while I soaked in the salty water. Actual bliss. A peaceful, sunny afternoon followed. Marc took both boys outside after he logged off from work. We are expecting rain the next two days.

One thing weighed heavily on me all day, though. Today is primary voting day for Illinois. I have never known Granny not to vote. So I secretly hoped she’d forego it. We (my mom, my Aunt Holly, and me) collectively try not to bombard her with too many calls, badgering, bad news, or any other annoying thing. Therefore, I decided to let this one go. When we spoke yesterday I asked her to avoid going out any way she could. But! If she were to leave the house, she needed to carry hand sanitizer, wipes, and wash up once she returned home. I asked mom to give me the update once she spoke with her. Well, no plot twist here. She chose to vote. She took her hand sanitizer. She was the only voter at her polling place. She scrubbed up when she got home. I respect her enough to allow her to make these decisions for herself. But of course I’d much prefer to keep her safe at home until further notice.

Another piece of news from the day: The state of Kansas has cancelled K-12 public school for the remainder of the school year. We’ll see what states follow.