It's an Easter unlike the others of the decades past; rather than gathering the family for food and conversation and an egg hunt for all the assorted offspring, this year we all remain in our separate nuclear family units, sending messages by text, and hoping for better times.
Things are a bit tricky right now. I can bring no consolation to Offspring the Third, who desperately misses having his own apartment with his own kitty in his college town (even though his kitty is safe in the home of my lovely in-laws). I have no words of encouragement for Offspring the Second, who stoically goes to work and quietly bemoans the fact that his plans to move out/relocate to a different city are on hold. Offspring the First fares reasonably well, but calls to chat when the strain becomes too great. All I can do is listen to all of them. It's hard to help them to see that this is (we hope) a relatively brief, strange time in human history, and that with a bit of luck and a bit of science, we will be able to resume our ordinary lives once more.
Hold tight, Offspring. You are loved. You have what you need. We are all, for the moment, well. These are tremendous blessings, as we shall see in retrospect.
I admit that today, I am struggling. I miss the minutiae of my life: time alone at the gym, forays to the grocery store during which I could roam the aisles at my leisure, imagining what my household might like to eat. Simple pleasures like going out to the movies, or even to lunch, seem incredibly distant.
It's remarkable that in a household full of people, it can still be lonely. Here within my head are fears that cannot be assuaged, concerns that are out of my control. Nothing can be done, except to wait.
I do not have the energy to write, or to pursue other hobbies. I am in a holding pattern. Stay the course, stay strong.
We shall see how things go.
This is how I feel right now.
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