Quarantine

We've run out of toilet paper. We've run out of hand sanitizer. We've run out of soap. There are no more sports. Italy is shut down. Universities are closing. It feels like the world is collectively losing its mind.

A world that already seemed crazy enough just got a pandemic, and I have no idea how to maintain some sense of normalcy.

This afternoon I was playing with my dog in the backyard. My parents have a big property that extends to the bank of a river. Cooper, the Entlebucher mountain dog, ran up to me with a stick swinging from his mouth. We played for hours.

Out of breath, I sat on a small dock and watched planes fly overhead. I looked down at the river moving, Cooper running to grab his stick.

Coronavirus is real. Precautions are necessary. Wash your hands. Don't give hugs. Try not to touch your face. But your emotional well being is real too, even under quarantine.

I don't know what normalcy will look like for you; I hardly know what that means for myself on an average day. But know that the river is still moving. The dogs are still running. The world is crumbling, but that doesn't mean we have to.