On Wednesday I took Will to his two-month well baby check (he’s tall and skinny with a big head, just like his dad!), then stopped by work afterwards to show him off. I had gone back and forth over whether to take him into an office building of 100+ people in the midst of coronavirus panic, but decided the risk at this point was probably reasonable as long as I didn’t let anyone else hold him and was careful about my hand-washing. It seems likely that a week or two from now things will be much worse, so I took the opportunity to see some friends and also grab some stuff from my desk in the event our physical offices are closed when I return to work in April.
Being on maternity leave during the rise of COVID-19 has been kind of a surreal experience. I have a lot of time to read the news, for better or worse. Initially just the thought of the novel coronavirus would send me into a tailspin of anxiety, but since it has become clear that the virus is not as dangerous for children as for some other groups (although there isn’t a lot of data on infants at this point), I’ve been able to mostly move past that emotional reaction, although my mom and Matt’s parents are in the 60+ age group and I worry that my mom isn’t being as careful as she should (she has a strong Bah humbug this whole thing is ridiculous attitude right now). I cruised around Target and got us stocked up on supplies last weekend before things got really crazy—definitely didn’t go into full-on prepper mode, but made sure we were topped up on TP, laundry detergent, diapers and wipes, etc. The price tag kind of made me choke (I don’t usually spend $150+ at Target!), but I’m glad I did, seeing all the pictures of empty store shelves on social media now!
The governor decided to close all Illinois schools starting Monday, so I’m losing my precious three days a week of Alice being out of the house. Honestly, it’s going to be a challenge being with both kids literally 24/7 for the next three weeks—I’ll need to make better use of nap time for my mental health maintenance rather than just passing out in bed with them for 90 minutes every day. But I am SO LUCKY to still be on maternity leave and not having to deal with worrying about childcare or working from home with them underfoot for at least a few weeks, and I’ll be offering myself up as a back-up babysitter to friends who are still working. We’ll do playdates and hang out with families in our neighborhood, but not having park district and library programs and all the fun things like children’s museums, etc. open will definitely change the way we move through the world. I hope the weather warms up a little so we can spend more time outside.
It seems like the news changes every day, so we’ll see how things go from here on out! For now, we’re happy and healthy and doing just fine. I hope everyone is able to stay safe out there.
Reading Update:
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell: I grabbed this audio book from OverDrive and actually managed to remember to listen to it! I like Gladwell’s stuff (although I wasn’t crazy about him as a narrator) and reading TTP felt particularly apt right now because the book opens with an example of how viruses gain momentum and “tip” into epidemics. Relevant to life right now! Overall I didn’t come away with any life-changing takeaways (maybe because the book is 10 years old?). Some of the topics, like the power of word of mouth, are things that I’ve thought about pretty extensively in relation to my work already. Finished on 3/12/20.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: After seeing the excellent movie, I had to dig out my childhood copy and re-read it for the first time in probably 20-ish years. I have really specific memories of reading Little Women as a child because it was the longest book in my elementary school library and I REALLY wanted to get through it so I could take the Accelerated Reader test and get all those sweet sweet points. The story was just as lovely this time around, and as an adult I have more appreciation for how well the content holds up. It’s pretty amazing to think that Alice will most likely read and love a story written shortly after the Civil War, and find a reflection of herself in the characters and their lives. The human condition!! Finished on 3/13/20.
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner: I started this one around the same time I cracked open Little Women and have kind of neglected it, but so far so good! I haven’t read any of Weiner’s novels before, although I’ve seen her stuff online and followed her feud with Jonathan Franzen, so I’m looking forward to digging into this one more. I haven’t looked up anything online about it, so I don’t know—are the character names Jo and Bethie coincidental, or is there an overarching allusion to Little Women running throughout the book? Very funny if so, considering my timing for reading it!
Who wouldn’t want to self-quarantine at home with these two??