As I was about to make dinner, I looked up at my usual prep station in the kitchen and saw this.
It is a lovely piece of undersea artwork that Amelia made for me earlier this year. She wanted to put it somewhere that I would see it and it would make me smile, so we decided on this little patch of wall near the stove.
At the time, I probably expected to leave it up there for a few days. This drawing went up pre-quarantine. I think sometime in February. I do look at it when I cook, and it does make me smile.
That said, when I looked at it today I realized that it had become such a part of the fabric of the kitchen, I wasn’t as actively noticing it. Like so many things in our lives, it fell off my radar even though it was right in front of my face.
The memory of putting it up was a little surreal because it wasn’t all that long ago, but it might as well have been a lifetime ago. It was at a different time when we were thinking about, doing and dreaming of very different things than we are today.
I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling like I’ve aged way more than 99 days since this whole thing started, but this is my 99th blog, so I thought I’d share 99 things I’ve observed in quarantine. Much like this blog itself, this idea is starting off as a dare against myself. I have no idea if I’ll come up with 99. But here I go.
- It is hard to type with a four year old holding onto your left arm.
- It is hard to type with a four year old holding onto your right arm.
- Even when you don’t really drive anywhere because the world is shut down, it turns out vehicle registrations still expire.
- Toilet paper is never, ever to be taken for granted again.
- Paper products in general are not to be taken for granted.
- Disinfecting wipes are precious.
- Strange things become scarce when people start hoarding. For example, every Whole Foods I went into for almost a month was consistently cleaned out of pizza sauce.
- I always liked personal space in public. I like it much more now.
- It’s possible to feel claustrophobic in wide open areas.
- Zoom is pretty awesome.
- The mute button on Zoom is very important.
- Cannellini beans are good and handy, but there is no disaster that would necessitate having more than 4 cans of them.
- When hoarding, frozen vegetables are actually very handy and can be used in lots of things.
- Bidets are pretty cool.
- Even I can install a bidet. (This might be the most surprising revelation here.)
- School is extremely important to kids.
- School is extremely important to adults.
- Being able to work from home is a blessing.
- Working from home can also be extremely challenging.
- Distractions can really…hey, put that down!!!
- When everyone has dogs and kids in the background during conference calls, the overall embarrassment level drops.
- Still, my son can really shout into a call like few others.
- My son has got some pipes, let me tell you.
- Norfolk terriers are adorable and loving little dogs.
- When it comes to bark volume from dogs, size matters not.
- For a suburban dad in his mid forties, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in quarantine is exactly the same as celebrating it before quarantine.
- Explaining a viral pandemic to small children is extremely difficult.
- Kids are stronger and more adaptable than I ever could have imagined.
- Adults can also be strong and adaptable when conditions warrant.
- Boxes make great spaceships, cars, or whatever the imagination conjures.
- Kids’ imaginations are delightful and inspiring.
- I believe adults can still access that imagination.
- Playing make believe with kids is awesome and everyone should try it.
- One of the things that motivates me each day is wondering what the kids will come up with next.
- I miss being with people.
- I particularly miss friends and family.
- That said, I couldn’t have possibly picked three better people to be in quarantine with. I am very fortunate.
- My wife is amazing and quite literally keeps me sane.
- Wait, that was two things…
- My wife is amazing…
- …AND keeps me sane.
- Ninety-nine is a big number to assign to a list.
- Ninenty-nine is probably not an unusual number of items on my earlier, hoard-heavy Trader Joe’s lists.
- I am very bad at LEGOs.
- I often lack the will to put down a Draw Four on my kids when playing UNO.
- I need a much bigger office to properly display all the artwork the kids have made for me.
- Backyard sprinklers are simple, wonderful and fun.
- The stubborn willpower of kids who want a snack is the most powerful force in the universe.
- The stubborn willpower of kids who want to watch a particular cartoon is the second most powerful force in the universe.
- Contrary to what comic books taught me, a big common threat like aliens or a pandemic won’t bring people together.
- People can be unbelievably short sighted and petty.
- People can also be kind, strong, resilient and amazing.
- I have to believe that number 52 outweights number 51.
- We are living through history.
- Future generations will not be bored when their teachers get into the lesson about 2020.
- Nothing good comes without challenge, and we are in a time of supreme challenge.
- The optimist in me believes that this means there are truly great days ahead.
- The pessimist in me has a hard time seeing how we get there.
- I call the pessimist in me Carl.
- I spend a good deal of time telling Carl to suck it.
- Carl sounds like Tim Curry in The Hunt for Red October.
- I miss going to restaurants.
- I miss going out with my wife.
- I really miss taking the kids to the grocery store with me.
- I miss taking them to places like the WOW children’s museum, and I wonder when or if I’ll get to do that again.
- Buying an annual pass to the WOW children’s museum in January was probably not a terribly good investment this year.
- But seriously, it was a great investment and I should probably find a way to donate more because those guys are great and the kids love it there.
- The kids stopped asking when they can go to the children’s museum in early April.
- We all miss taking trips together.
- I don’t miss doing a lot of work travel, but…
- …it is weird not having been to the airport in months.
- I bet my smooth routine getting through security would be all messed up and rusty now.
- I don’t think I’ll be getting Premier Status on United this year.
- For the first time in my life, I’m kind of nervous about flying.
- I am very thankful to live in a state with lots of beautiful things to see within driving distance.
- This blog has reminded me that I love writing.
- That might seem obvious because I write a lot here, but I wasn’t sure for a lot of years.
- You can like writing, and still overdo it by daring yourself to write a list of 99 things.
- My original idea was to riff something off the song “99 Luftballons,” but holy cow that song is long and complicated.
- Dares can also be good. I dared myself to write this blog every day and I’ve somehow managed to do it for 99 days.
- It makes me think of George McFly saying, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”
- It’s been fun watching some movies during quarantine.
- “Back to the Future” is a nearly flawless movie.
- “The Princess Bride” is a flawless movie.
- “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” is a…flaw-full movie. Is that a word?
- I’m inventing the word “flawful” right now.
- I am sincerely enjoying some new reboots of classic cartoons that the kids are into.
- The Amazon Prime “New Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle” is super silly and fun.
- The new movie, “Scoob” is surprisingly good.
- Amelia has been watching the new “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” on Netflix and it is quite good.
- I couldn’t be more proud of my kids.
- I couldn’t be luckier than to be raising them with Erin.
- We have a big job teaching them about love and justice in the world.
- We all have a part to play in making a better world for our kids.
- I look forward to quieter and better days.
- I look forward to having a fresh draft beer again.
- I look forward to traveling again.
- I look forward to seeing you in person again.
- I am very, very, very thankful to everyone who reads this blog. It helps keep me going. And if you made it all this way, I think I owe you a tote bag or something.
