Wow, it's been a weird week, huh?
Isn't it strange how your whole week or even month can totally change in the blink of an eye?
There I was, sitting with my manager and assistant manager discussing the plan for the rest of the week. The hysteria over the coronavirus was just beginning to amp up and my coworker who had recently returned from a trip abroad had decided to quarantine herself.
I sympathized with her decision, but I was scared about trying to juggle all the things for the week without her. My only consolation was that, because the county was getting more and more serious about the threat of infection, there was a rumor that the programs for the week would be cancelled, taking a serious chunk of my responsibilities off my plate.
This rumor turned out to be a fact, and we were scrambling to let the patrons know as soon as possible of the cancellations.
After we went over the plan of attack and they assuaged all my other fears and concerns, my manager asked how my family was doing.
"Oh, we're fine. It's kinda funny, my in-laws are just getting back from a Caribbean cruise and they're staying with us for like a month," I chuckled.
My manager and assistant manager just stared at me for a second and then exchanged looks.
Umm, was it something I said? I thought.
"They're staying with you?" my manager asked.
"Yeah..." I said, cautiously.
"Then you might have to be under mandatory quarantine, too, for 14 days," my manager said.
This was when I heard the proverbial "record scratch".
Me? I thought. "It affects me?" I asked.
Then my managers explained how I was at risk because my in-laws were going to be in such close proximity to me, so it might be decided that I would have to avoid the library for 14 days. She made some calls and soon enough she got word that I would, indeed, need to be quarantined.
I was flabbergasted. In the span of a conversation, I went from focusing on just getting through the week to suddenly not working for two weeks. I texted Joe all about it and called my coworker to let her know that now, I, too, would not be in the building for some time. She was surprised but she also understood. We began talking about what will happen next, and what other libraries were doing. I was starting to get more scared. No one I talked to had ever been through something like this and it seemed no one really knew what was going to happen next.
By the end of the day, we knew. The county was making the decision to close all the libraries for almost a month. Fortunately, we staff members would still be able to report to the building to work on projects during the closure so we could still get a paycheck. But my heart still goes out to those whose industries are not as flexible. The economic impact on this whole thing will be something that will be studied for years, I bet.
As I waved goodbye to my coworkers, bidding them farewell for two weeks, I began to run through my head some things I could do with this time. Finish reading a bunch of books I started. Watch some webinars. And of course, the less ambitious activities like napping and catching up on my RuPaul's Drag Race. I was being given this precious gift of time and I didn't want to squander it.
Well, here it is, Day Four, and I feel like I haven't accomplished much yet. I did watch two webinars, although I kept fading in and out so I'd have to restart them a few times. I did do some reading, but I swear, I feel like more new pages keep appearing because it doesn't seem like I've gotten anywhere with it. And as far as Drag Race is concerned, I've probably only watched two episodes.
What do I account for this lack of productivity? I'd say structure is the key thing. I've been so used to my week looking and feeling a certain way, and to have that built-in structure suddenly gone is a bit unsettling.
Now, I'm sure I can hear some of you getting ready to throw virtual rotten vegetables at me. Is this b**** seriously complaining about being off for two weeks? Well, yes, I guess that's true. But it's really not a pleasure cruise right now. Think about it- I'm not going to the mall, I'm not going to the movies, or going out to lunch.
And lest ye forget, I also have a VERY excited three-year old to attend to. Yes, once the word got out to the daycares about the seriousness of this disease, they all began closing up and Joey's daycare was no exception. They held out as long as they could but last night they officially made the decision to close for a week (at least). So that precious time I had allotted for personal fulfillment, education, and relaxation has been replaced by potty-training tantrums, puzzles, and Paw Patrol*.
*Incidentally, what is it about kids shows and our inexplicable urge to watch them, as well? It could be the most obnoxious, stupid show, but there I am, hand in midair as I was opening the microwave door, eyes transfixed on Chase the Pup and his super cool anti-skid levitating car. I actually almost sat down next to Joey at one point to watch it too until I realized what the hell I was doing.
Thankfully, my in-laws are here and despite the reputation that most in-laws get, mine are truly awesome. They cook every night for us and offer to take Joey for walks to the park and play with him constantly so that I can have a break. I really don't know what I'd do without them. Well, I do know, and it's called glueing a tablet to Joey's one hand and a baggie filled with Apple Jacks in the other. Great parenting, right?
But now it's the weekend. Joe's home (unless he gets yanked to go film something for work) so he can take over the real brunt of the child-rearing for a few days while I try to plot out my plan for the rest of this "quarantine".
Here's my brief list of things to do:
1.) Research/book a dentist. I've been putting this off for YEARS and I think it's finally time to do something about my teeth. If nothing else, a cleaning is definitely in order.
2.) Watch more webinars. I'm really interested in learning more about cataloging using MARC and the Connexion tool through OCLC. It would be great to brush up on these skills and maybe research some kind of certification.
3.) (Seriously) finish all the books that are sitting in my room. I have four books that I need to finish: Marie Kondo's book about tidying up, one of my book club's books, "Maybe You Should Talk To Someone", and finally a book by Irma Brombeck. The Kondo book only has about a chapter or two left of it (and with all this time, maybe it will push me to complete the next item on my list) and the book club selection was a novella so it REALLY shouldn't take me long to finish, but I'm just procrastinating. I had to wait months for "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" and I know I've got a waiting list behind me, so I need to finish it before the libraries open again. I had never heard of Irma Brombeck before but my coworker had read this blog and told me my writing style is similar to hers so I'm excited to finally crack open this one.
4.) Kondo my Kloset. My bedroom closet would give sweet Marie Kondo nightmares, I think. I have so many bags and bags of bags and bags in bags, plus old clothes and shoes just sort of shoved into the closet. We have maybe a foot of space on the ground where you can actually see the carpet.
Do I think I can do all these things? Probably not. But what I can do is map out a daily schedule for myself for the next week and see how many of these things I CAN accomplish. It would be a silver lining in an otherwise, overall, freaky situation that we all find ourselves in.
I also wanted to write this post because I wanted to have some record of the silly things I was worrying about when all over the world, this blanket of uncertainty was covering all of us. I remember when that morning in September went from just being a day I was home sick from high school to becoming "September 11th" and I wonder if we will be years from now sharing our stories about how we all remember that Spring of 2020.
So feel free to share your thoughts now, if you like and it helps. How are you spending this time? What scares you and what, if anything, makes you shake your head and laugh? That last part might be the most important. As we begin wiping ourselves with banana leaves and dreaming of a nice roast chicken dinner, hopefully we can laugh after we've shed a few tears.
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