What has quarantine made you do? 

History is being made all the time but we’re too busy to notice. I remember asking my grandparents about The Great Depression or rationing during World War II and they said it was hard but you get through. “We were busy raising a family. What did we know?” They came from the Old Country, Thessaloniki, Greece, and anything was better than that. The hardships they knew are why they came to America. “You’ll never know such hardships,” was a common thread. My middle school closed at the end of the day on Friday, March 13th and we’re set to be closed until May 4th. That’s all I know right now.

We’re just getting started and I don’t have any answers but I am noticing some patterns in my own behavior. If my kitchen could text me if would say something like…  “WHAT has gotten into you!  I’m here all the time and now you’re noticing!”  I slow cooked four pounds chicken and shredded it for meals in the coming weeks. I even made my own broth! I have made cookies on a day that was neither Saturday or Sunday. I’ve also made my own bread and I’m not talking banana bread but a yeast rising artisan bread. Yes, a loaf of Honey Oat, no-knead bread from this man, Steve, on YouTube and I will make more of his spectacular recipes because that’s what I do now. Now granted, this week I have been on Spring Break and it has been raining and cold so baking seems like a good option.

In the basement I started to create a studio space for video production. My husband and I painted and spruced it up and I have no more excuses for not diving into the deep end and giving it a shot.

I’ve read several books and listened to a couple more audio books. Speaking of books, the first week we were out of school I rode my bike to a dozen of the Little Lending Libraries within a 10 mile radius and restocked them with some books from my collection. Truth is I was going to take the books to school (I’m a middle school librarian) but I decided that they should go to the Little Lending libraries instead. Now I am taking from one and moving the collections around. Call it cirulation. I am using gloves and hand sanitizer, but I have opted to hold off on that and just donate.

I watched a squirrel watch me while I was Zwifting and despite my efforts to photograph the blur I can’t help but ponder ways I can get better shots in the future. I started by cleaning the windows.

I practiced piano… (for the first time in 5 years) for about 15 minutes just to see what I could remember. I’m not ready to release anything on YouTube, but I remembered more that I thought. Muscle memory even applies to playing the piano. 

It’s not my nature to cut my hair. I’ve heard of people who have cut their bangs.  I have very curly hair and I have learned to let my hair enjoy its wild ways. 

I have ridden my bike not to fetch groceries, do errands or commute to and from work, but just to ride. I’ve never Zwifted more in my whole life than I have since the quaranatine. Last week with all the rain I opted to spin indoors. Accorting to the Zwift report in my email I set a record last week of 3.5 hours. The whole Watopia worlds and even NYC are vast and untapped territory and I like the virtual riding more than I thought. I don’t know what everything means on the Zwift side, but given that I’m not commuting, it has been refreshing, to find people and territory out there that I haven’t wholly embraced before. Also I didn’t know there was a different app for your phone which allows you to give kudos and adjust your ride. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

That’s just it isn’t it? Before Coronavirus (heretofore known as BCV) we didn’t have time to engage in all these activities. I would come home from school exhausted from the day and I’d be happy if I could figure out dinner and get the script done for the next day’s school news program. Everything is slowing down. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m scared and generally freaked out every single day. It’s frightening and sad and I feel vulnerable and like I’m walking on a tightrope with nothing but darkness beneath me. The pandemic continues to spread and we really don’t know what to expect next. I’m grateful to so many for carrying the load right now and putting themselves out there while I stay home and try to be well. All we can do is find something extraordinary that grounds us to the task at hand. Staying at home. Maybe the extraordinary is the ordinary. Being healthy and living through another day. Helping the small businesses and supporting one another from a distance.

In the days and weeks to come quarantine will force our hand. It might lure us like the Greek sirens. It will get harder to stay at home. We will be drawn to the false song of safety and it’ll be okay since we’re going to mingle among our personal groups and friends. There’s no harm in that?

Yes, there is. Stay the course and don’t endanger yourself or others. I was reminded of this E.L. Doctorow quote about writing and think it is an encouraging sentiment in difficult times. “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” Reminds me of bike lights too.

Be smart. Be strong. Stay home and take care of yourself. Get on Zwift and find me and we can “ride on” together until this whole pandemic is history. 

Stay safe and be well!

Thanks for reading.

Bike Goddess

In the comments below tell me what grounds you? What helps you focus on staying home? Oh, and if you use Zwift, give me a tip.