Covid-19, schools' out, Pi Day, Ol's birthday
/Good gracious, y’all! 2020 has been a hell of a dumpster fire-gully washer so far.
You get my drift?! I mean, the orange stain has been impeached, more than 7,800 Americans have been killed or injured by a gun, Devin Nunes continues to file baseless lawsuits ad nauseam, and the world is being besieged by the coronavirus. The entire country of Italy, where my sister and her family live, is shut down, school systems and companies around the globe have closed for varying amounts of time (my boys’ school will reopen 4/13 at the earliest, and Tom is home for at least two weeks), but our ridiculous excuse for a leader continues to lie and endanger America’s public health.
South Korea has drive-through testing that accommodates 200,000 people a day, Turkey has hundreds of thousands more tests than we do, and folks landing in Haiti are tested immediately upon disembarking the plane. Meanwhile, Americans are left wondering what tests are and where and how do you get them if you’re not a Congressional Republican or Mar-a-Lago barnacle.
At least we’re having an early spring thanks to right-wingers around the world refusing to deal with climate change. Gadzooks! We are all housebound, there is no Kleenex to be found in stores* (seriously, I tried two different stores this afternoon as Oliver is sick and used 4 boxes of tissues before 4p today and struck out completely), and even the kids wonder if distance learning will work, but boy howdy, I wore shorts and worked in the yard for 5 hours today, so there’s that. #winning
*In perhaps an odd sign of end times, there are also no turnips to be found. Two stores, no turnips. I mean, I love turnips, but I didn’t realize I had so much company. Is this shortage because St. Patty’s Day is Tuesday?
But life goes on, and so do we. Ol has a shitty virus but he is a darling lamb and will be ok (hopefully by the time he turns 11 on Tuesday), Jack is using this break as a grand opportunity to get new lawn care clients and earn money, and we are living as if it’s all a mighty vacation. Ice cream at 2p? Sure. A movie every night? You bet. A pie for Pi Day? Duh.
apple pi
In the grand scheme of things, we remain infinitely fortunate. If you feel that way too, consider donating to or volunteering with local food banks (I’ve just given to DC’s Capital Area Food Bank and registered to join the Special Response Task Force of my county bank, Manna Food Center), to public school lunch programs as many kids rely heavily on the meals they eat at school, and to your own micro communities. My neighborhood listserv abounds with offers to help older or disabled neighbors by grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, walking dogs, tending yards, and so forth.
And don’t forget to laugh. This video is hilarious.