Tag: quarantine

Social Distancing Maine Coast-Style

Published on by kerrymckimLeave a comment

I am currently writing a post but I need another day to work on it.  I don’t want to rush it and have it suck.

I also meant to write a Weekly Gratitude post but didn’t get around to it.  Work and home school is exhausting.  But I decided to do a gratitude post of sorts.

I am grateful to have been able to be socially distant in one of the prettiest places on Earth.  And due to the rural nature, we have been able to still go to beaches and to go hiking in the woods.  We are very lucky.  I thought I would share some pictures.

 

Quarantine Ponderings: Overloaded

Published on by kerrymckim2 Comments

I am one of those people whose mind is always going.

I can’t just sit still and do nothing.  I hardly watch TV.  My DVR is overrun with episodes of Blue Bloods, This is Us and Better Call Saul though I pretty much only have the brain capacity to binge watch old favorites.

I have lots of thoughts.  I haven’t been writing about it.  I have spent most of 2019 away from my blog because I needed space at that time.

I brought back my weekly gratitude posts for awhile.  I need to bring those back.  Gratitude is a good habit to have.

Then 2020 happened.

I think we have all had time to sit in our thoughts.  I don’t think that is a bad thing.  I think more people need to spend time thinking.  I have had many people in my life that tell me that I need to stop thinking so much and that I need to get out of my thoughts.

I disagree.

Perhaps people need to think more.

So here, in 2020, during a time of Quarantine, we are experiencing something new.  Some thing no one alive has ever experienced.  Well unless you are over 100 years old and even if you were alive during the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, you probably don’t remember it.

With this new experience, we have probably been thinking about things we may have never thought about before.  And we are surrounded by other people who may be thinking about things they have never thought about before.

And then people may post on social media and the collective energy may feel like the outlet that Clark Griswold plugged his Christmas lights into.

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You may be feeling overloaded.

Clark Griswold’s electrical outlet is your brain on quarantine.

I am probably dating myself majorly here but I was an 80’s child and my overstimulated brain thought of this 80’s commercial.

 

This is your brain.  This is your brain during the 2020 Pandemic.  Any questions?

Anyone else shocked that a commercial towards kids lasted a whole 30 seconds in the 1980s?  15 second Insta-stories are the new 30 second commercial.

I am also amazed that the guy cracked the egg with one hand.  Of course, the video quality if poor and for all we know, there could be egg shells in that fried egg.  *insert shrug emoji*

Maybe the egg is another analogy of how our quarantine brain feels…with or without drugs.  (Not judging nor condoning.  Use responsibly.  And kids….your brains are still forming.  It’s your best asset.  Don’t eff it up.)

So I have these thoughts but I don’t take the time to write out blog posts about them.  My style of writing is usually spending 2-4 days drafting a post, usually handwritten in my blogging journal first.  Then I spent a couple hours transcribing it into blog form.

Yeah…between homeschooling my kid and working 40 hours a week, I don’t have time to write in my normal style.

But it became clear to me that I must write because I need to get these thoughts out and to clear my head.

So I am changing how I draft blog posts.  I am doing something new and out of my comfort zone.  You are going to get my ponderings in a more raw form.   And I am going to blog about that I need to say and maybe it will reasonate with you.  Feel free to share with me what you are thinking, even if it has nothing to do with what I wrote about.  I love hearing from people.

I hope you have a great week.

How quickly things can change

Published on by kerrymckim3 Comments

March 12.

That was a Thursday.  At that point there were no cases of COVID-19 in Maine.  We were the last state in New England standing.  If I remember correctly, there were cases in 30 states.  I was excited for Saturday as my town was having a Bean and Potluck Supper to celebrate Maine’s 200th birthday.  I had volunteered to make a cake and I was going to decorate with a blueberry theme as I had Maine blueberries in my freezer.  My daughter’s class was going to helping out at the supper.

I had been following the virus for the previous 6 weeks.  What can I say?  I’m a nerd who loves maps and I work in healthcare.

I had been slowly stocking up on food over the past couple weeks. No panic buying.  Just picking up a little extra on things my 5 year old would be pissed if we ran out of, so things like Dino-Nuggests and Cheez-Its with the Frozen characters on them.  The important things.  No TP Hoarding here.

I had an almost empty chest freezer that I was slowly filling.

I also did my Easter Bunny shopping early.  I figured there would be two outcomes.  If Easter products were hard to find, then the Easter Bunny would still come through.   If there was no shortage of Easter Products, I would still be happy to have that shopping done.  The latter was the outcome.

A little voice told me that morning to go to Wal-Mart and do another grocery trip.  Just one last trip.  So I went.  Got on extra box of Frozen Cheez Its and Two extra bags of Dino Nuggets.  And my intuition told me to buy an extra bag of flour.  I had no idea flour would become hard to find in the coming weeks.

I came home and put the Dino-Nuggets in the freezer.  Then I went to work.  (I work from home.)

That afternoon it was announced that Maine had it’s first case.

It was only a matter of time.

As expected, the first case was in Southern Maine which might as well still be in another state when you are from my part of Maine.  (I kid.  Well, I kid but there is some truth to that.)

Then a bunch of activities and events planned were postponed and cancelled, including the bean supper.

I picked my daughter up from school because there were T-ball sign ups.  Of course that season has been postponed.

I took my daughter to the beach that evening while everyone went to the supermarkets and bought all the hamburger and toilet paper.

 

We found a piece of sea glass.  This has become a new hobby.  Maybe I will write a post about our sea glass adventures.  (And it’s okay if you look at this piece of sea glass and think it looks like…something.  Or maybe I just have a dirty mind.)

You can also follow our adventures on Instagram at @kerryannmckim #shamelessplug

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The next morning I dropped my daughter off at school and things were different.  Instead of all the kids congregated together, the children went straight to their classrooms.  No panic.  It was sold to the kids “we’re doing something different today.”

It was announced that the teachers would be coming up with plans should school be cancelled.

Saturday morning my daughter sold cookies with her Girl Scout Troop.  People needed to get cookies before quarantine.

That weekend I went out for one of my best friends birthdays.  We were still cautious.  We had hand sanitizer.  Plus, alcohol kills germs…right?

Not going to lie.  Even with modern technology, I miss my friends.  I did drop off ice cream to them the following week but I miss seeing them.  One of my friends has a birthday in May and we were joking that we wouldn’t get to see each other until her birthday.

Now I don’t think that is going to happen.

That night we got notified that there would be no school for two weeks.  Which would later turn into 6 weeks and then turn into the rest of the school year.

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Sunday morning was my daughters dance class and then we stopped in at her troops last cookie booth so we could pick up and deliver some cookies we sold last minute.

And that was the last of life before the quarantine.

I’m trying not to complain.  While homeschooling my kid and denying my social nature is not easy…this still doesn’t compare to those 5 months that Bryon was hooked up to a ventilator.  But uncertainty is still never easy.  The only difference is that when Bryon was sick, it was only our world that was unstable….everything was going on as scheduled around us.  Right now, it is uncertain for everyone around us.

So while I can draw a lot of parallels between that crisis and this crisis, there are very big differences.

But remember….nothing ever lasts forever.

And everybody wants to rule the world.  But that is another whole issue.

 

 

Quarantine Brain

Published on by kerrymckim5 Comments

When I became pregnant with my daughter, I became flighty.  I blamed it on “Pregnancy Brain”.

When I was engaged and planning my wedding, I became forgetful.  I blamed it on “Wedding Brain”.

When I was going through Widow Fog (which is 100% real), I blamed it on “Widow Brain”.

And now I realize that I am afflicted again…with Quarantine Brain.

It makes sense.  I am working 40 hours a week from home (which I am grateful) and I am homeschooling my kindergarten daughter.

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To be truthful, I am envious of those who are having a restful quarantine because between work and home school…I am exhausted.

Add in all the news.  Lots of news.  Press conferences.  I have hit my limit.

And all the opinions.  Everyone is an expert.

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My brain is on overload.  I haven’t had time to read much or write and I have thought about writing many times.  But the thoughts are so jumbled right now.

I have done some cooking and some trips to the shore.  We are allowed to go to the beaches here, we just need to remain socially distant.

Quarantine got the best of my daughter.  She gave herself bangs.  (insert facepalm emoji)

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So I wanted to do a quick check in?  How are you feeling during this quarantine?  What are you thinking about?  Have you cooked?  Have you given yourself bangs?  How are you dealing?