7th Inning Stretch

August 13, 2020

I feel like we’re in the “7th inning stretch” of the pandemic. That moment in time when the game isn’t over, but we’re too restless to continue to sit in one place any longer. Even as with baseball, you never know how many innings are coming after your stretch. Remember the game that went for 18 innings??? That could be us right now.

Everyone is eager and ready to get out of their homes, take off the masks, touch our faces!!!! We want to go back to doing the things we used to do. We’re ready for this to be over – or at least please tell us it’s getting better, and we don’t have to do all this stuff indefinitely!!!

When the pandemic put me in lock-down, I had a plan!! Grocery shopping via curbside pickup every week (regardless of what was missing from the order) and the pickup times were often 10 days to two weeks ahead, meditate every day, wipe everything down, plan meals and photograph them to share. Call friends near and far, sometimes with a video chat and some friends from long ago. I restarted my photo scanning project.

My rubbing alcohol was out of date, as were the hydrogen peroxide and the bleach. I found a very old thermometer and had to buy batteries for it because there were no new thermometers in the store or on line for a while. What about that pasta sauce the store didn’t have? Tortilla shells? Lentils? Dried beans? That special salt I could only get from one store? Chipotle pepper?  I had a little bit of hand sanitizer that we managed to make last until the breweries started making it. I had one box left of the latex gloves that I like to use in food preparation. I had one container of sanitary wipes. I used them very sparingly. Happy to do my part by spraying and wiping with cloths that I washed every day. I washed my hands, often, and tried to avoid touching my face.

I had two masks, given to me by the young woman sitting next to me on our trip back to Ottawa ON from San Francisco last February (involved passing through 4 airports). I wasn’t too worried about it at the time because we were told they weren’t really “effective”. Eventually, before we were ordered to wear them, a group of volunteers began making them for free distribution, and we were lucky enough to get  one for each of us, rushing out in the bitter cold to pick them up.

That was a different world. In some ways, we were energized by the challenges and kind to each other in our efforts to help. Facebook created a new emoji for the times.

It took a while but finally spring came, one flower bud at a time. I plot the progress every year. Always on the lookout for daffodils. We observed the tulip festival from the car. Forsythia, followed quickly by spirea. Then come the lilacs, my favorite because it signals my birthday on June 20^th and the longest day of the year, a mixed blessing because after that the days get shorter. Soon the peonies are blooming, reminding me of my childhood. Roses start to show up, and the weather is lovely and warm. The days are long. People are outside – walking, jogging, biking.

We feel comforted because the politicians and their medical officers tell us we’re in Phase III. We go to a restaurant patio from time to time for cocktails and appetizers. Some restaurants are even opening inside space to a reduced crowd of diners. We got haircuts. We got pedicures. We got our teeth cleaned. The bars are open. Family reunions and weddings are happening. Some of us are socializing, but not always following the rules.

I notice the small apples on the trees, leaves turning colors. The corn is now readily available and the strawberries are nearly finished. Kids are starting back to school, either in person, on line, or a combination, depending on your location.

A few items started showing up again in the stores, and I am now into my hoarding mode because the “umpires” are telling us to sit back down, the game isn’t over yet.

Get ready for the 8^th inning. Winter is coming…