The State of Simone: Where I’ve Been and My March 2020 Wrap Up

2020 has been busy.

I moved to another city, but that wasn’t easy. We had to scout the city first and then find a place to live and then plan the rest of the move.

And then the Corona virus hit.

We moved a week before we were told to start practicing social distancing. I can’t believe I bought my toilet paper and paper towels for our new house right before it started selling out in stores. My husband and I’ve been staying home, staying safe. He’s been working, but since the virus broke out there’s been a slight hiring freeze. All the applications I’ve sent to places are now languishing in some HR limbo waiting for release. I mean, I think we’re all waiting for release.

So I’ve been keeping busy. We’ve been working on some projects at home and also keeping each other entertained while in quarantine. Hubby built a squat rack and platform (which is something we’ve been wanting and started working on before quarantine) and we were right at the start of working on our garden before everything shut down. I’ve set up a little reading nook in our third-level loft. It’s now the comfiest place to read, meditate, and just get away from the rest of what’s happening on ground level. I even bought Animal Crossing on Nintendo Switch to play.

As for reading, not so much. Since March was when they announced California would start “shelter in place,” I’ve been feeling a little lethargic. Like everyone else, the feeling of wanting to be at home vs. forced to be at home are quite different. As you know, I’m an avid homebody and love being home and doing things at home, but being told you can’t go anywhere really changes things. Normal walks require me to walk across the street whenever someone comes in the opposite direction. Keeping socially distant to avoid catching the virus. Constantly washing your hands or waiting in line for groceries because pandemic has made other folks hoard supplies. It’s been exhausting.

However, I also know that our lives are pretty privileged. We don’t have any kids so we don’t have to worry about school. We aren’t over the age of 65. We don’t have any respiratory issues or pre-existing conditions that would make us more susceptible to the disease. All we can do as able-bodied citizens is stay home, stay safe, and avoid contact with others. As the able-bodied, we are the ones that have to be more careful because our privilege lets us leave the house whenever we want. Our privilege lets us do jumping jacks without being out of breath. Our privilege needs to be under check through this time because those without the privilege won’t survive if we don’t.

So lethargy, I can get over. What I’m doing is protecting my mother who is over 65 and my father who has asthma. We’re protecting the huge senior citizen community that live here. We’re keeping our healthcare workers and essential employees safe from the virus. We’re putting those who are disadvantaged first because there’s no room to be selfish when there’s a virus going around that will literally strangle people of their breath.

But despite the pandemic and having an anxiety attack every time I go to the grocery store now (grocery stores were so soothing and now they’re panic inducing), I read seven books. I read my monthly average, which I’m very surprised and grateful about. There were so many accounts I’ve read from friends who can’t focus on their reading. So many people who are struggling with their mental health to sit down and enjoy a book. So many parents who need to focus their free time on taking care of their kids. So many folks who are working from home and trying to maintain a good work/life balance despite it all happening in the same place. The world is a little chaotic right now, so I’m grateful I read one book let alone seven.

Out of the seven, there were really only three that I wanted to highlight. You can find all my reviews on Goodreads, but a quick list of recommendations from me include:

• Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
  
• When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald

For April, I plan on spending more time reading at home, working on my mocktails (a new hobby of mine), and baking to pass the time. What have you been doing to pass the time?