The Quarantine Diaries // vol. i

my view most days

It's hard to know what to say about it all.

As I'm beginning this, it's been 45 days since the world turned upside down. In some ways it feels as though we just got the news yesterday, but then I remember that finals are over and an entire show should have taken place over the past month and the thought of dancing in a crowded room or actually hugging someone sounds so foreign but so wonderful, and I realize that it's been a very long 45 days.

In the grand scheme of it all, I know that I'm so, so lucky. I'm safe at home. My school + work was able to easily switch to being fully online. We have everything that we need here, and we're still able to see people through Zoom. But I'd be lying if I said that it's been easy. That first week was filled with lots of refreshing the news, lots of stress cleaning, and I may or may not have knit so desperately and furiously that I gave myself blisters that didn't go away for three weeks.

But as with most things in life, I've settled into it. I'm using my planner more than ever, simply because it keeps me feeling grounded. I've fallen into a schedule of sorts for myself in an attempt to make up for the lack of routine. My family teases me about being too much of a workaholic, but I just do so much better when I have concrete things to check off and get done. (Then again, type 6s do tend to go to type 3 in times of stress...so there's also that.)

More than anything, I just miss my people - but there's nothing unique about that. I don't know many people who aren't struggling with the isolation that has come along with this season of being quarantined. Still, it's been hard. Going from constant rehearsals to not hugging my people for over a month has been a major shock to the system. There have been days where I'm pretty sure I would have traded a kidney to be able to be back in the theater with my kids. And while I'm all for staying quarantined as long as is necessary - safety is always the top priority - man, I cannot wait for the day that the world starts turning (safely!) again.

But it hasn't been all bad. I've been in my Bible more in the last 45 days than I probably have been since 2020 started. I'm finally getting sleep, a rarity in my life. I've had more meals with my family than I have since I can remember, and technology has been a complete lifesaver for staying in touch. The weather has been warm and sunlight is always streaming through my windows, and it helps me to breathe.

I expected to get a lot more stir-crazy than I have, which has been a pleasant surprise. I've always been a homebody, so being home in and of itself hasn't been bad. I've always said that I'd love to work from home after I graduate, and I stand by that. It's nice to be in my own space and to have more control over my schedule. I also have somehow made it 45 days without getting bored once???

This is partially due to the fact that quarantine has been so much busier than I expected. I work in social media, and quarantine has meant that everyone wants to majorly up their content output, so between school and work, I've spent 90% of my day glued to my laptop since all of this started. That part has been good for me, though - like I said, I do better when I'm busy. But I also have constantly had a never-ending list of things that I want to do for as long as I can remember, so boredom is nowhere on my horizon.

That being said, as of today, I'm done with school for the semester, so I'll definitely be having more time on my hands. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a little nervous about that, but I hope that it will be good. And I'm pumped to have another semester down - only three more to go, and you'd better believe that I will be counting down the weeks.

The brightest spot of this quarantine season for me took place at the end of last week - since my dance kids weren't able to have their recital this year, my mom and I came up with the next best thing. We spent half of Thursday and all day on Friday driving around to each of my kids' houses to surprise them, then we videoed them dancing in their yards and I edited all of the footage together for an end-of-year video. It was all super safe, and it was so sweet to get to see them, even from a distance. :) The videos turned out really cute, and I'm so grateful to have that keepsake from such a crazy time. I'll be holding on to those two days for quite a while.

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the things keeping me sane

d o i n g :

- puzzles. they're tangible + calming in the best way.

- journaling. i don't think i missed an entry for the first thirty days, and it really has been a saving grace.

- allllllll the day planning. it's keeping me grounded.

- slowly easing back into novel writing once more. I forgot how much I missed it.

- lots and lots of poetry writing, thanks to the #escapril challenge on Instagram. I'm doing it completely wrong and will be writing #escapril poems long after April is over, but I really just don't care - it's been freeing in a way.


w a t c h i n g :

- SO much Gilmore Girls. We're going through the series for the first time, and we *just* started season six. spoilers upon penalty of death.

- lots of Frasier, because it's just comforting

- The Last Five Years is currently free on YouTube and it blessed my life in the best way.

- To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. I'm sorry, you cannot tell me that Peter is a better choice than John Ambrose. You can't change my mind on that.

- Bandstand was available for streaming and it was the absolute most beautiful thing, even if I'm forever brokenhearted that the performance I had tickets to was canceled.

- Paul Gordon's Pride and Prejudice: The Musical. Oh my goodness gracious. I think that this was my favorite thing I've watched all quarantine. It was available as a free stream for 24 hours, but it is SO worth renting - I cannot recommend it enough, especially if you're a Pride and Prejudice fan. My entire family was obsessed with it. The host site, Streaming Musicals, is streaming Emma (also by Paul Gordon) for free on May 6th, and you'd better believe I'll be watching.


r e a d i n g :

- Nehemiah, and then James, and now Proverbs. I'd never really read through Nehemiah, and it was so good.

- Home Work by Julie Andrews, my favorite human of all time.

- To Kill a Mockingbird. I could read it over and over and it would never be enough.

- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - not my favorite, but I think I was just expecting something different.

- SO much poetry for school, along with The Giver and A Separate Peace, neither of which will be rereads.

- quarantine updates from Meaghan, Joanne, and Carly.


e a t i n g :

- lots of homemade bread, because maybe we're basic but bread is wonderful.

- pasta with chicken + sun dried tomatoes + herbs

- so many baked goods. God bless my mother.

- probably too much coffee ice cream

- also have been drinking more water than I ever have in my LIFE so yay for balance


l i s t e n i n g :

- all of John Mayer's Continuum album

- The Kate and Abbie Show - these two incredible friends of mine chat about creativity, art, stories, health, life, and everything in between, and it's so sweet and calming to get to listen to them.

- Sleeping at Last's podcast episode unpacking the song "Four". The enneagram insight is incredible and I love hearing about the thought behind everything he does.

- honestly just the most random mixture of songs. at some point I should make a playlist - maybe we'll do that in the next quarantine diaries post


m o m e n t s :

- started up a Zoom baking club with my favorite humans, and it's been a definite highlight.

- took an online dance class from Al Blackstone and suddenly felt more like myself than I had in weeks and weeks

- we had a pet show-and-tell on Zoom in my elementary dance class one day, and the kids without pets brought stuffed animals. I did the entire class with a stuffed Simba by my side and it was pretty darn precious.

- one of the best parts of this season has been all of the sweet, sweet chats with blogger friends. this extra time away from the crazy has given us all the chance to connect a bit more, and I'm grateful for it.

- got to shoot the first set of my sister's senior photos under my grandparents' gorgeous cherry tree

- had the loveliest Zoom scrapbook party with my soul sister Hannah P.

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I hope that you're all hanging in there, friends. You've been in my prayers. Hopefully we'll be out of this soon, but until then, I'm still here. Always feel free to shoot me an email or a DM - I'm always here. 

Keep staying safe. Keep social distancing - let's end this thing.

Check in time: how's quarantine been treating you? What has been keeping you sane? Any book/movie/show/podcast/song recommendations? How can I be praying for you?

Until next time. ♥