It happened so quick. I wasn’t even thinking. And then I crossed the threshold.
So today our governor announced that school buildings will be closed “at least through May 15th.” This was not unexpected. And I am not surprised by his announcement, but my mood had been a bit low. And I have not been as productive as I would like.
It was nearly 3:00 p.m. when the phone rang. A friend, an older woman, asked if I wanted to walk in a nearby municipal park, one that is still open, a rarity in NJ. I looked at the books spread out on the kitchen island and the list of notes I had been making. I still had grading to do, but nothing was happening. So I said “yes” and agreed to meet her at her home.
When I got there, she came out and waved to me before stating she had to get her keys and her coat.
“Come on in.”
I grabbed my things from my car and walked up the walk to the door. I hesitated for a moment, wondering if this was a mistake. But then her cat tried to slip outside and I took a step forward to prevent her furry friend from escaping.
My friend chatted as she moved about the house looking for keys and coat. I looked around and felt like I had just broken a law.
But there were just two of us. We were six feet apart. Neither of us are sick, nor sneezing from the beautiful trees with their pollen.
I know some of my friends would be in shock if I told them what happened. Some would criticize my decision. A few would doubt my ability to think clearly.
My friend found her coat and keys then offered to drive. We rode in her car for about five minutes to the park. The windows were open. For that moment, life felt normal.
I felt twitchy. Was riding in a friend’s car a really bad idea? Here I was again, breaking the rules.
This could be considered an “unnecessary trip”, except my sanity may be at stake. Week five in the house is worse than one, two, and three. My friend and I walked about six feet apart. We both had masks, albeit they were in our pockets. It was fun to catch up and chat as we walked two miles.
Since when does walking feel so much like a crime? Maybe it wasn’t the walking, it was being with someone else other than the two I live with that felt like a crime. It felt like cheating, cheating the game of Covid 19.
There are fellow citizens in our country that feel that their freedoms are being taken away by the government when social distancing measures are put into place. There were upheavals in Ohio and Michigan this week where people protested against their leaders’ decisions to shut down their economies to practice social distancing. A friend sent me an article from The Washington Times asserting that the number of Covid 19 deaths don’t warrant an economic shutdown and more people have died from the flu.
But I live in a hot spot where there are trucks filled with the dead, and M.A.S.H. units set up in parks or in parking lots. 12000 have died in NY alone. NJ has 3,518 dead as of today.
I’m not sure I will stand in another’s home for the next month. I made a mistake.
Stay safe reader.
Namaste
Meandering Through Midlife 
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