Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Roger did it

 So I will, too.  He said he was thankful for a number of things, and I guess I need to enumerate them too:

1. I have managed to avoid catching coronavirus, despite teaching in person and doing my own grocery shopping. Moreover: my mom has managed to avoid it.

2. Even though I'm not traveling for Thanksgiving, I have family who understand that. It would be harder if my mom tried to make me feel guilty or overly-fearful for not wanting to get on a train for 16 (or more, if there are delays) hours around other people to go see her.

3. I'm figuring out an alternative. Today I'm going to make homemade cranberry sauce and  pumpkin custards for tomorrow's meal, and I'm supposed to have my frozen SeaBear order come today, which is the main dish. 

4. I kept my job, didn't face a pay cut, mostly made it through the semester. It was hard - this was the hardest semester I've ever taught, even considering this spring, even considering last fall after my father's death - but I have only two weeks (mostly: a lot of grading) left and then I have a longer break.

5. I have hobbies and interests to sustain me through this time. 

6. I can do some things virtually. I have been Face Timing with my mom and that makes a big difference; somehow it is better than just hearing her voice over the phone. I think my little knitting group is having Zoom meeting this Saturday even though it's a holiday weekend. I've been able to "attend" a concert that my friend Laura played in, and go to my first-ever evening Native Plant Society talk. (It would be really nice, once the pandemic is over, if they keep broadcasting the meetings for those of us who live far from OKC or Stillwater - Thursday nights are a terrible time to have to drive far when you have work the next day). 

7. At least thus far, I've been able to get what I need. Also my concern/worry about things served me for once....I remember back in February being at the Target and thinking "it's not quite time for me to stock up on tp yet but this virus might come here and might make it hard to get out, so maybe I better buy ahead" and that turns out to have been a solid decision - along with the one of keeping extra canned goods on hand.

8. Being able to shop online is a real blessing. Oh, it always has been, given where I live - there is no bookstore in town but I have Bookshop.org when I want a new book. Or I can order from Folio if it's a book I want a fancy, expensive illustrated copy of. And this year - well, I've been able to get the pureed sweet potato I like and use a lot despite not being able to get to the natural-foods store that sells it, and I have a case lot of Golden Syrup sitting in my kitchen for use in my tea, and both of those were online purchases. 

9. There's a vaccine on the way. Oh, not as fast as any of us want it, and even once we have it we'll probably have to mask and distance for a while longer until the spread of the virus ebbs, but probably by this time next year? I will be in Illinois to spend Thanksgiving with my mom. And really, less than a year where it's bad enough that you can't circulate freely and work has to be very, very different - that's pretty amazing.

1 comment:

Roger Owen Green said...

Yeah, it'll be nice to visit my MIL in Oneonta, NY next T-day. Unless she sells the house and moves to housing closer to us.