Weekending it

It's not called lockdown and it's not called shelter-in-place, but here in Brooklyn (and the tri-state area) we are now in mandatory "stay at home."

It seems that most cities and states are moving in this direction but here in New York City, it looks a lot different and is a lot more difficult. Not to minimize anyone else's experience but forcing people to stay inside is very difficult in the most densely populated city in the country. People do not have backyards and the parks are FAR too crowded to be considered safe. Supposedly, the Governor said it is okay to go out for walks but when you walk out your door and immediately run into 5+ people before you hit the end of your block, it's a major risk to consider.

Initially, we were going out for walks before 7 am but it was still too crowded out and when the weather hit near 70 it was even worse. We drove to New Jersey on Saturday at 7 am and went to a secluded area. It was essentially an abandoned road with a very post-apocalyptic vibe but we were alone so we walked around a bit and let Kip scooter.

After our creepy walk, we went to Trader Joe's for the last time. Mandy and I wore masks and stood in line outside for 30 minutes to get into the store. They were limiting 20 people inside at a time and only two of any one item. We split up and stocked up on meat to freeze and a few fresh items. We went to Mandy's apartment after and collected some of her pantry items to take back to Brooklyn. After we got back to Brooklyn we accepted this as our new reality. It's tight quarters. We don't have the choice to go let Kip run around in a backyard. We don't even have the choice to go for a safe walk. People may be confused by this but imagine 100+ people living in the same building as you, even taking your garbage down to the basement or going to do laundry is a risk. We have enough food to potentially last 3+ weeks and it's possible we won't leave before then. The only exposure we have at this point is Dan carefully taking garbage out every night and Mandy and/or Dan doing laundry once a week.

We spent the rest of the weekend trying to stay entertained for this marathon.

My list of gratitude to start the week:

Mandy - I'm not sure I could mentally or emotionally handle this without her sacrifice and help during this time. Also, she is hilarious and we need the laughs right now
Dan - His eternal patience is a true gift
Technology - keeping us close to family virtually and entertained with movies and shows
Jobs - both Dan and I are able to work from home and are currently still employed
Kip - his language and imagination are exploding right now and I am grateful to be here to witness it
Family dinner - when Dan and I were working we got home past Kip's bedtime and never got to eat dinner with him. Now we all sit together for lunch and dinner and it's a really wonderful bonding time
Occasional bad weather - it's easier to stay inside when its dark and rainy (we need the sunshine to survive but it's hard to resist going outside when it's nice).

Hope you all are staying well and managing to stay less stir crazy than us, in the epicenter.