Week 500 of Shut Down... Right??

We’ve been in shut down/stay at home mode for 500 weeks, right? I’m pretty sure that number is correct, despite what the calendar may tell us. Ok, so maybe it’s not quite week 500, but it sure as hell feels that way.

Many of my author friends seem to be furiously writing during this pandemic. I, on the other hand, can barely write text messages. I’m not necessarily stressed out and I’m (so far) quite healthy. I run errands each day- we have a PO box that has to be checked, the pup needs to be walked, all convenient reason to put on real clothes and maybe some makeup. Like most of us though, I'm not getting out as much as I did a month ago. I read, take naps, and horror of horrors, snack the entire day! I may not fit into any jeans by the end of all of this. Writing, however? Not so much. I think about it, work on plot moves, and even contemplate finishing the two manuscripts that have been gathering dust for a year. But then naptime appears and, poof! I’m in my recliner with a good book and drift off to dream land for a while.

I did solve my gray roots problem… only to create a new problem: The grocery store hair color shade I chose was about 25 shades too damn dark! Now I look as though I’m trying to pretend I’m twenty years younger instead of almost 65. The color on the box looked correct. Hopefully cheap hair dye fades quickly. And Note To Self: Don’t trust the damn box! Diana, my hairdresser, is in for a shock when she finally gets hold of my hair. I’m assuming it will be an all day event and will need to tip accordingly.

Being a puppy grandma is quite the time consuming endeavor as well. It’s amazing how much trouble a 5 month-old pup can get into! If an hour walk isn’t included in her day she's nothing but mischief in a furry body- you’d think she was part cat. It was raining the other day, so no walk. She spent two hours trying to steal all the potholders she could reach and chewing them to smithereens. I tried partially solving the issue by playing ball in the house (we have a long stretch that provides at least some sort of running). This has been a successful strategy many times in the past- not today. She had the audacity to get bored after 5 minutes and returned to getting into trouble rather quickly. I wish my grandkids could come over and run the nonsense out of her. I'm sure my daughter would appreciate that, too!

“This too will pass” was the attitude I was raised with and it’s true—things will eventually get back to normal and we’ll all pick up the pieces to the best of our ability. I’m looking forward to normal life- and hair color- and I’m pretty sure those feelings are shared by us all.