Dear Journal: Pandemic induced cabin fever is real and getting realer
Published 3:30 pm Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Editor’s note: Karen Harris Tully is a writer who lives in Raymond and has agreed to keep a journal to share with Daily World readers during the odd and uncertain time we’re all navigating.
Dear Journal:
Our house looks like a tornado blew through the upstairs. The kiddos (5 and 7) decided they want to share a room, and chaos ensued with every book and toy needing to be removed for some reason that I don’t understand. I say we need bunkbeds to make this work, but my husband Mike wanted to see if they could sleep in the same room first, so we managed to fit both beds in one. After that first night, he’s probably right. But hey, maybe now I can have my tiny office back, fingers crossed.
Change and growth are messy and frustrating, and we’re experiencing both, personally and in our country. It feels like a double whammy. Our kids are slowly learning to be more self-sufficient, but I still find it hard to get time to myself to write without interruptions. But they swept and mopped the kitchen floor the other day, so that’s a win, though I had to be there to referee. I feel like I’m constantly entertaining and trying to find new projects for them, and then they can’t quite do them on their own yet, not without staining everything within reach with food coloring. Note to self: homemade slime really sticks to fabric.
Boy, I’m whiney today. I need to take my own advice, buck up, get a change of scenery and my positivity back. But where to go? A spring getaway to Vegas doesn’t seem safe to reschedule, even if it is open. A girl’s trip to Portland, cancelled. A family summer trip, cancelled, rescheduled, and cancelled again. I’m trying to make local outdoor plans for summer, someplace relatively safe yet still get us out of this house. Camping is even sounding pretty great, though we haven’t been since before the kids were born. That WAS how my family vacationed, growing up in the mountains of Colorado. And, since the kids have never camped, we should probably practice first. So, backyard camping it is! It’s a start at least.
Song of the day: Rocky Mountain High, John Denver
Karen Harris Tully is a novelist living in Raymond with her husband and two small children. She writes sci-fi/fantasy for teens and adults and can be found at www.karenharristully.com.
