As a little kid, and even into adulthood, the prospect of extreme weather arriving on our doorstep exhilarated me. With remote control in hand, I hovered in front of the television at the first warning of blizzards, or I took to the safety of my back porch to watch the light show durning thunderstorms. Hurricane Gloria arrived on my 10th birthday and, while combating disappointment over a delayed party with friends, a cat 1 hurricane, ON MY BIRTHDAY? Oddly enough, it really was a gift.

When I first heard “coronavirus” and COVID-19, I thought very little about it. I grabbed a few extra rolls of paper towels and stocked up on “storm chips”, what we lovingly refer to extra snacks we have on hand to prepare for the possibility of being stranded during bad weather. I started feeling that tiny buzz of excitement about the prospect of its relative safe severity, and distance, until this week.

Speaking of snacks, holy moly the grazing. I coined the phrase #quarantinefifteen and I geniunely believe that’s going to be a thing. I need some outlet to combat that from happening, and doing laps around my house is NOT ADEQUATE. I suggested Yoga to the fiance’ this morning, to which he responded by feeling my head and wondered aloud if I needed to be tested for the Corona.

It’s the first day of my long term work from home situation, and my office mate and I managed through our first day with relative ease. His only complaints: I drank too much coffee and despite wearing headphones, he heard the sounds of my lips syncing to the music. Apparently, Backstreet Boys I Want It That Way sent him over the edge. Otherwise, we got through most of the day relatively unscathed.

2/3 teenager sightings, although the eldest took some coaxing (read: threatening) to return home last night from a multi-day endeavor with her boyfriend, after much negotiation between her and her father. Like a good step-parent, I saw my way right out of that conversation post-haste and thanked my lucky stars for two very introverted children who rarely leave the house. The younger kids spent the day as you’d imagine…doing a lot of nothing and eating pasta. Distance learning school lessons commence tomorrow, starting with reading Lord of the Flies. Perhaps we’ll end with a lesson in the art of the dry martini. All important life lessons are on the table here.