Everyday Life in Middletown, Entry 10
May 12, 2020
Today (Tuesday, May 12) was actually a pretty active one under our “next normal,” as some corporate groupspeak would have it. The past eight weeks has seen a new routine of routines smashed into pieces on the ground. Regardless of how settled I may be into my “new” routine, today is already different because my teenagers, one HS senior and one freshman, have now alternated houses for the next couple of weeks.
My weekday begins as always with a staff teleconference in the morning. It is usually brief and not at onerous at the beginning of the day unless it has been a late night before. Rising, awakening and looking at least mildly presentable and professional is still much easier (and shorter) than the routine under normal circumstances to present to the office in person. I still remain grateful the opportunity to work is there and I haven’t been furloughed, laid off (which I’ve experienced before) or that my employer has not folded up shop.
A quick scan of the news and social media chatter continues to trigger disbelief in the attitudes surrounding the Plague of Our Age. Even while we may not have seen the widespread death and despair once predicted, the cavalier attitude of many is still amazing to me. To not worry about one’s own well-being or protection is one thing; for so many to be so indifferent and in many cases, hostile, to those who do is another. To trade barbs on Facebook with a prominent member of the community (prominence defined as he would term himself a ‘builder’ and a ‘job creator’ over the notion that my election to protect others (and possibly myself or loved ones) while still patronizing essential businesses for goods and services (which have been scrutinized for their necessity, to be fair) is somehow offensive to his “rights” and “freedoms,” well… there are some people who are just going to remain unconvinced. Because the forum is on the page of another community “pundit” and widely read by people I *do* hold professional respect for, my replies are blunted even though his are as unfettered and caustic as ever. My instinctive response, which I resist, is that he perform a physical impossibility, though saying so would only affirm what I suspect has been his reality for a long, long time.
Much of my work in this time period consists of email communication, reading or creating documents and more electronic distribution of such. I’m grateful that much of our communication now can take this written form and my phone does not ring off the hook at home. I prefer this in my personal life too; I enjoy conversations, but I also appreciate the chance to read and re-read, process thoughts and respond, editing as I go, for clarity and appropriateness, and that preferred communication transfers to the above conversation as well. In person, the disagreement could have easily turned ugly. Some fear there is a loss of human connection here. Yes and no. What we lose in spontaneity we gain in honesty. Our words and feelings, for better or worse, are less restrained on the written page. Some may disagree.
I have personal goals for the day as well. My mother needs help preparing the house for summer, as my dad passed on three years ago this month. I make time late in the afternoon to help with storm windows, patio awnings and the like to keep my mom’s independent, self-reliant streak off the garage and basement stairs. While these annual tasks are being performed for an audience of one right now, I guess it helps her feel “normal” for now. Really, isn’t that what we’re all trying to cling to?
Once these tasks are completed, I have some time I’ve set aside for bike riding, as it’s a gorgeous evening on the White River Greenway. I prefer to get my leisurely exercise via walking, but I’m trying to complete another greenway in 2020: The Little Miami Trail in Ohio. Upon completing the entirety of the Cardinal Greenway (by bike and foot, plus train many years ago) in 2015, I convinced my dad that the Little Miami could be knocked out in a few installments. He never made it, getting sick in early 2016. Since he died the following year, I’ve tried to complete the new trail little by little. With a couple 30-mile rides this year, I should be able to finish it up, time, weather, and Plague of Our Age permitting. I’m a little unsure how soon to embark on this, as I’m not certain how well Ohio is doing in trying to protect others and respecting “recommendations,” (as I will call them for what they really are.) If around here is any indication, Ohians are doing very little, and maybe even less, but I repeat myself. I attended college there, and the independent/libertarian streak is strong. As such, I’ve picked a random weekday I have off to start the first installment of goals completion, pandemic style. That should (hopefully?) keep the crowds thirsting for personal liberties down, at least before the sun is high and it gets hot.
Winding down the first fully alone at home in two months, I’m struggling a bit with how to end this. I have enough work (today) to keep me going, but I’m finding it difficult to remain motivated. My commitment to tidiness, regular meals and indeed, responsible conduct seems to have been tied to the teenage children who were in the house with me. By that I don’t mean that I need someone around to look after me, just when there is no one else here it’s easy to let things slide. I already felt myself subconsciously lightening up at the mere mention of lessening official “restrictions” last week, and now that it has settled in, I find myself worrying less about the next grocery list, the coming of the daily mail, the steps to take to ensure continued well-being, etcetera. Now I’m focused on finishing out the day and just keeping track of friends and being sure they’re all still healthy and accounted for. Is this what the “next normal” really means?