"It's a Beautiful Life"- Genevieve Galvan Frenes

Day 33 –

It has been a little more than four weeks today since we have been confined in our homes. So, according to my imagination, I foresee a change in existence in about a month or so. What does this mean?

Well, I foresee this change in the form of a short story. Since I have a big imagination and great deal of time, here is my prediction of life in my household in all its exaggeration (excuse the language, but it is a made up story).

So, life has taken a turn for the worst, or the better. I can’t tell.

My husband is an early sleeper and I’m the night owl. With the change in our schedule and everyone at home now, I don’t fall asleep until 2 a.m. which means when I fall asleep, I crash in bed and snore like a trucker.

At this point, my hubby has moved to the guest room on the other side of the house, and I sleep until midday. I lock the door, barricading myself in my room, since the children (grown ass kids, I mean) tend to still look for me when they are hungry. Mind you, they don’t awaken until around 3 p.m. each day. I’ve grown tired of cooking, so locking the door helps in keeping them away.

The notes still fly under the door asking me questions. This reminds me of when I used to use the bathroom when they were little, and my children would shoot paper notes under the door. At the time, the notes would be simple like, “Mom, are you there?” “Mom, I love you” or “Mom, mom, mom.”

Now, the questions they ask me are, “What are you doing?” “Um, we’re getting sort of hungry out here? Are you coming out soon?” or my favorite, “There’s nothing to eat!”

(The pantry has been stocked to the brim, so I know they won’t go hungry). And if some items run low, they have Instacart to the rescue!

I see the notes fly under the door and I think, “Hell, no, I’m not coming out.”

I cooked every meal for I don’t know how long, and now, I’m done. I can’t keep up with their appetites. Nonstop food is all I think about. Endless meal preps and endless clean up.

I mean, really, with my Cal King bed, my television perched on top, my Bose stereo at my leisure, and no one around, I’m staying put in my own space.

Amazon is my king now. I’ve ordered a mini-frig, a hot plate, a microwave, and air buds. I even get it delivered through my side window in my room. I have everything I need. And if I have to go to the store, I climb through the window for a quick getaway, then I’m back and no one knows.

Sure the neighbors think I’m odd as I place my leg outside the low window, but hey, remember social distancing? They can surely stare at me from a 6 foot distance, and I could care less.

And as for outside, well, my room has a set of French doors leading to the outside patio. When I walk out into the fresh air, it’s not so fresh, and actually smells stinky. I take a very, quick walk, since even the damn dogs are off their schedule. They shit all over the sidewalk since it’s been raining for weeks. It’s like snow cone heaven, only it’s poop scattered everywhere on the concrete, since their prissy butts can’t touch the wet grass. What has my world become?

When I’m inside my room, I hear the feuds in the nearby walls of my kids’ rooms. I hear things being thrown against the walls and mad chaos on some days. And that’s when my trusty air pods drown out the noisy clamber of children gone wild. Eventually, the commotion dies down and once the social media sets in, they are like zombies.

As for my husband, he’s immersed in a puzzle…a puzzle that has 5000 pieces. In fact, it takes up the entire kitchen table, and it would take a blazing fire to get him to step away from that enormous puzzle. It has become his sole goal for weeks.

He rarely speaks anymore, and I think I heard the kids say he uses a magnifier to find the pieces now. The kids have to poke him with a stick to see if he still responds to human contact. I wouldn’t know this information, since I’ve been barricaded in my room as well. This is only what I’ve heard in voices through the door.

This is now our life. It sounds very distraught, but actually, there are advantages:

The corona virus hasn’t got us yet. Thank goodness! However, the virus that is growing in our house, well, that’s another story.

Credit cards are a godsend. When the notes get to be too much, I shove the credit card under the door, and voila! The kids buy their own meals, and they’re even delivered.

My husband knocks on the door to see how I’m doing once in a great while. Sometimes he remembers my name, sometimes he doesn’t. He lives in his bubble trance of puzzle-making happiness. I can’t blame him. He needs his own happiness, too.

As for myself, my hair is dyed bright purple now. Why you ask? Why not. It’s better than gray, and it’s my favorite color. No one will see me for months, so what do I care…

No Corona virus is in this house.

But… what’s become of our home, well, the stay-at-home invasion has taken over, and there’s no going back. This is our life.

(Note: Again, this is a made up story. Imagination is a great asset in extremely long spans of time 🙂