DAY 28

Day 28 of social distancing/ stay at home.

Yes, the nerves are starting to be just a little frayed, the patience that I lack even on good days is becoming practically nonexistent and it isn't taking much for me to lapse into a mood.  But I'm sure I'm not the only one.

The daily routine, while not "awful", isn't exactly thrilling either.  The introvert that I am married to is loving it however.  Wake up, drink coffee (Steve eats breakfast, I am not a breakfast eater), go for a 2 mile walk in the neighborhood, eat brunch, watch TV - usually the noon newscast, scour Facebook for anything interesting - I'm now including Instagram during that time - branching out!, make lunch, nap, work in the yard, make dinner, take a 1 mile walk through neighborhood, drink alcohol, watch TV, go to bed.  Wash/rinse/repeat cycle.  The excitement is contagious huh?

So how to mix it up, make it more interesting?  I see online how people are doing all kinds of home projects, cleaning the house top to bottom - spring cleaning I suppose but until the pollen count drops dramatically there will be no cleaning here.  The one positive I can say about COVID-19 is that I don't get the strange looks when I am outside working in the yard with a face mask on that I used to get.  Historically during pollen season, anytime I am outside I wear a face mask so that my day doesn't get ruined just by planting a flower or watering the lawn.  Now, no one gives me a second glance as most everyone that walks/drives by is wearing as well.  See, I'm not always "debbie downer"!   I did manage to get 4 new flowers in the ground last weekend.  Not sure why the "weekend" still seems to be the time to do that as there really is no difference in the days, but it feels like the time to do it.  We do have many exterior projects that we want to get done but just getting the materials to do them is the biggest problem right now.  Has anyone been to Lowe's recently?  It's insane there.  Even though the stores are taking steps to keep people apart, parents seem to INSIST on bringing all the kiddies to do the shopping.  They are all over the place and clearly don't get it...nor do the parents as if they did, the kids would either be in the car or still at home.  Come on people, getting supplies does NOT have to be a family affair.

Here in the neighborhood some residents are starting to get a little testy as well.  The normally positive vibe that permeates Creekside is showing some signs of cracking.  Daily there are complaints on our neighborhood Facebook page about residents and their dogs (not the dogs themselves, but the neighbors who seem incapable of picking up after their animals and leaving "gifts" in others lawns, driveways and sidewalks), about how crowded the mail kiosk is and that given the close proximity of our mail boxes, that isn't the place to socialize (and it doesn't take the whole family to get the mail), and then there are the pickle ball players and their constant complaining about the Durham City/County orders to not play any sport that "shares" equipment i.e. tennis balls.  Go ahead and play folks, just play your pickle ball and die.  You're annoying anyway.  Harsh?...yeah, I should probably just delete that.