Minda Goes West

When I was young, my dad was a celebrity in our town. People said hi to him everywhere we went, and if we were out without him and someone learned he was my father, they often expressed envy. He'd even had his picture in the paper.  He was The Science Teacher with the Snakes.  (Photo of my dad in his early 30s, holding a boa constrictor with one hand and a baby with the other. The baby is reaching a hand toward the snake's head.) He was also--I suspect from the stories I heard and one memorable day where I hung out in his classroom after kindergarten--the sort of strict-but-entertaining-and-fair teacher I loved most, although I never attended a school where he taught.  Adult former students and parents of students greeted him cheerfully. Current and recent students said hi, but seemed stunned that teachers existed outside of school, which my siblings and I found highly amusing.  One of the things I appreciated most about my dad was that he was remarkably unconcerned ...

My sister, Kristi, introduced me to the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop several years ago, and she and my mom are both regular participants and current co-hosts (with others). I am not a regular participant because A) I post very infrequently, and B) I often have snarky or not-particularly thankful things I want to post about. But the blog hop is celebrating its seventh birthday this week, so I decided to join in this week. Of course, this week has been a tough week in a tough year, and so this list will reflect that. 1. I am thankful for the protests. Do I worry about large groups of people, many not wearing masks, increasing the number of COVID-19 cases in my city and potentially slowing down our reopening? Yes. Am I disgruntled by the vandalism and looting in my city? Yes. But I have seen how videos of the protests are changing the hearts and minds of some people in my life and making them more aware of the lived experience of others, and so I am thankful.  And some of the prote...

Writer Man and I both turned 49 this week. I made him an apricot and mascarpone tart. Youngest Kid made me a chocolate cake with white butter frosting. (I prefer white frosting to chocolate frosting.) In current events, it was a rough week. The US exceeded 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis. San Francisco tightened the rules about wearing masks and delivered a depressingly drawn-out reopening plan.  My heart grieves.  The protests in San Francisco over the murder of George Floyd turned into looting yesterday evening, mostly around Union Square and Market Street downtown. I haven't spent much time in Union Square, but Youngest Kid and I shop at the Old Navy and the Westfield Mall that were looted, and I used to walk past the CVS and Walgreens on my way to work, back when we lived at the first apartment. Writer Man walked down that way this afternoon and saw some of the damage first-hand. I did some reading on Campaign Zero's Police ...

I heard a podcaster (Gretchen Rubin, I think) suggest making a list of things you miss in the quarantine, so here goes. Public transportation Some buses are still running, but I think we're still supposed to be saving them for essential trips. Since I can accomplish all my essential activities within walking distance of my apartment, I haven't been on a bus since February 27. I miss being able to jump on a bus and visit another part of San Francisco, and I miss being able to walk until my energy is drained, and then take a bus home.  Movie theaters Yes, we can watch movies at home, but I miss being part of a crowd that's reacting to the same story unfolding. Sipping a cappuccino in a real cup while reading and people watching in a cafe SF has so many great cafes and coffee shops. Or should I say, had? Libraries I am grateful for my library's ebook lending program, which is keeping me nicely stocked in reading material, but there are some books I want to read that...

So here we are, almost 60 days into quarantine. A word, WriterMan reminds me, that literally means 40 days. Although other parts of California are starting to open, the Bay Area remains firmly closed through May. Our own behavior is even more restrictive than what is allowed. We mostly eat food from our storage, supplemented every 2-3 weeks with a delivery from InstaCart and once a week or so with milk and eggs (and ice cream and wine) from the small store across the street. I've had one masked, unsuccessful trip the hardware store looking for bird seed, and one weekend we bought ice cream cones from a food truck parked at the marina. It was excellent ice cream. Other than that, we've stayed out of commercial establishments, not even taking advantage of takeout or food delivery services from those restaurants that are staying open. Well, except for the afternoon Youngest Kid and I spent in the pediatric ER a few days after my last blog post. He started complaining o...

There are a few pieces of good news, for which I am grateful. The Inspector Gamache novel revived my interest in reading, although I'm definitely happiest staying on the lighter side of my usual reading range. Mystery novels, witches and vampires, and fairy-tale-esque fantasy novels? Yes, please. Novels about suffering in the real world? Rain check, please. I spent the first week or so of quarantine bingeing TV shows, and reading feels much better. While we're on the topic of reading, thank heavens for Kindles and the ability to borrow ebooks from the library. We noticed hearts, peace symbols, and greetings on the windows of the buildings facing us half a block away, so Youngest Kid and I used pink sticky notes to post "HI" in the window facing them. Hopefully it brought a smile to someone's face. (Photo of the view through a window, showing sticky notes forming I and H.)  Due to my manager urging me to take Friday off, and church streaming the ser...

What a week. It felt like at least three. I know I'm not alone in this, and yet it seems odd. After all, we are all healthy. We have a comfortable place in which to shelter, with expansive views and some outdoor space. WriterMan and I can both work from home easily, and although our investments have taken a serious hit, we are not in any immediate financial difficulty. Our older kids are safe and secure where they are, as are our parents, siblings, and other family members, and we have many ways to connect with them. On the surface, our week was normal, or possibly more relaxed than usual. After all, there was no commute, no Boy Scouts, no errands. (We were already living like this, and the city of San Francisco joined us, by order of the Mayor who declared "shelter in place" effective 12:01 AM on Tuesday. On Thursday, that extended to all of California.) And yet, I'm exhausted, and have been pretty much all week, despite getting plenty of sleep on paper. So...