Quarantine Chronicles, Day Forever: I know from reading social media that this shelter-in-place has affected people in significant ways. I believe a number of people will immediately enter rehab, fat farms, or marriage counseling as soon as they are allowed out.
The isolation has affected me as well, I have developed a retail therapy habit: every day, I find myself compelled to shop online. Mind you, everything I have ordered has a purpose, but I suppose I could have waited to order those party supplies for next year’s St. Patrick’s Day.
Although those Leprechaun shaped cocktail glasses are really sweet, my addiction is not driven by the need for things like glasses, but the relationship I have forged with our UPS driver.
I love my spouse, Terri. I love our daughter, Katie. And I love my mother-in-law, Maggie. But after 60 plus days, I find myself wanting to chat with someone else and wondering about “out there”. Not only is the UPS Driver someone new to speak with but he has experienced the world beyond my driveway.
Although not yet on a first name basis, as the only new person I have met in two months, I look forward to chatting with him during his daily delivery. I have upgraded my UPS account to receive minute by minute delivery updates. As he nears, I get excited, and my imagination is filled with thoughts of his travels to exotic places, like the next street over.
As he arrives, I don my mask to greet him on the porch, maintaining the required 6 feet:
Me : Thank you!
UPS Driver: You’re welcome, sir.
Me: Can you tell me what it’s like “out there”?
UPS Driver: Excuse me, I have to go…
Me: Where are you going next?
UPS Driver: Your neighbors.
Me: How exciting that must be!
UPS Driver: …
I grab my box of battery powered, lighted Happy New Year head ornaments and retreat to my cave to ponder my next purchase…
