2020 Life Logs, Day 83: Out of Focus
Date: Monday, March 23, 2020
Weather: Cloudy with Some Rain; High 44 degrees, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Shadow and I are doing fine during these ‘stay at home’ times, but I continue to struggle with focus. I continue to jump from one activity to another and simply feel out of focus. Surely I’ll get it together soon. Most of my day today was spent in follow-up activities.
I was supposed to receive my first delivery of Misfits organic veggies and fruits on Saturday. The FedEx tracking system said the box had been delivered to my doorstep, but it was not. I tried to reach both FedEx and Misfits on Saturday, but there was absolutely no way to talk to a person. I had to send emails. I still have not heard back from either with a return email, but today I called the FedEx office in Massachusetts that sent the delivery truck out. I did get an agent. She was very helpful and very surprised as she said the driver has been delivering packages to the Cape for years and should be very familiar with the area. Since the box of food is perishable, it seemed silly to try and track it down, but she helped me figure out how to make sure the driver gets detailed directions for this week’s delivery. Hopefully her suggestions work.
As a follow-up to other things I wrote about yesterday, I heard from Jo’s parents in England and they are doing fine, but like here, staying at home and not visiting with family. Margaret reported that she had a wonderful Zoom online gathering with all three of her children, but it was the first Mother’s Day she has ever spent without actually being with at least of one of the three. I also learned that Mike and Linda Stuart are going to stay in Spain. In order to be within the new rules being imposed there, they are going to have to stay in their current Airbnb, even though it more expensive, because they already have a contract. They have found a Facebook page where other Americans in Spain are sharing experiences and that is helping them feel more connected. And tonight I talked to Heather and they had a good day despite the rainy weather keeping boys inside during the afternoon. Sam is recovering from his skateboard fall on Sunday. And Heather and Jed are striking a balance between work and checking in on what the boys are doing. Heather and Jed are supposed to close on the purchase of their new home this Thursday, but Governor Baker’s announcement today that all non-essential workers in Massachusetts must now stay home might interfere with the closing. “Beginning Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 12:00 PM, Massachusetts join a growing number of states in closing non-essential businesses and organizations to employees, customers, and the public.” This order applies to the “physical workplaces and facilities” until April 7. It is going to take a day or so to figure out exactly if and how this might impact a closing in a bank. But they are prepared for a delay. Even if they do close, they now are not sure that the work they wanted to have done before moving in can go ahead. What is essential? What is not? Such uncertain times, but we will get through this.
Last week Ollie discovered the Mo Willems noontime doodling website. Mo Willems is a children’s author. He, along with a whole lot of other children’s authors, are offering online activities for kids at home. https://www.weareteachers.com/virtual-author-activities/?utm_content=1584565321&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR30-cq5NJbAOJ9zPEvGZeI2gvALwKDwMwazDc4BIvidKG40qAtJ_lI7i9k
Tonight on the Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel did a piece on how the children of the people who are still working to produce her show are taking advantage of the Mo Willems offering. She showed a lot of their doodling art and highlighted what one child had written beside her doodle. “We’re all connected.” Even though we are currently physically distanced, we must all find ways to stay connected.
