Making Tracks

By Kat Bryant

I have been working from home since March 16 and have not ventured beyond my front porch since then, except for a grocery run March 27.

You might think my house would be sparkling clean, my closets cleared of all unnecessary clutter, my front yard coiffed, my kitchen table covered with crafting supplies.

You’d be ever so wrong.

I’ve never enjoyed housework or gardening or crafting of any kind, and a little extra time on my hands hasn’t changed that. Honestly, if I ever retire, I’ll probably be subsumed by a dust bunny and never seen again.

I’ve made an extensive to-do list, but have accomplished exactly one major task at home during this time: rearranging a bunch of furniture to fit my desk into my bedroom. The goal was to facilitate better separation between me and my housemate if one of us were to get sick. (So far, so good on that front.) But it also opened up the living room very nicely, so … win-win.

Although I still take my meds faithfully, depression has crept into my brain with all that’s going on. It’s harder to fight when I can’t drive someplace to enjoy the outdoors, which is like my church. (Yes, I know it’s legal to walk on the beaches with plenty of separation; but I think driving out there from Hoquiam with my big, overly friendly dogs would not be a responsible thing to do under the circumstances.)

Given all of this, I am extremely thankful that I’m not alone here at home.

My housemate is a good friend, and we’re both introverts to begin with, so we’ve only had to make minor adjustments to our home lives. Since Dan still goes to the office for work, he picks up groceries for us while he’s out. In our copious downtime, we’ve watched more movies than usual (which is a lot), and we take turns either cooking or ordering dinner from a local restaurant.

Best of all, as I write this — near the end of Week Three of our quarantine and reduced work hours — we’re not sick of each other (yet). That may be at least partially attributable to our combined menagerie of two dogs and three cats, who keep us smiling, warm and well-loved.

The hardest part so far has been training my new “office assistants” to respect my space while I’m working. The cats still jump up onto my desk, but they’ve finally learned to deftly hop over my keyboard onto the folded towel in a designated corner. My cocoa breaks have become very relaxing purr breaks. I miss interacting with my colleagues at the office, but I could get used to working like this.

As far as outside human interaction, I now have two standing weekly video chats via Zoom — one to talk with with my immediate family members, and one with a bunch of my cousins all over the country to play Cards Against Humanity. It’s a welcome diversion for all of us.

The long and short of it is: We’re managing the best we can, like all of you. No, staying home for weeks or possibly months won’t be easy, even for us introverts; but it’s the right thing to do to protect ourselves and the most vulnerable around us.

So find what brings you joy at home, whether it’s gardening, creating art, spring cleaning or even watching a whole lot of movies. And stay in touch with the people who matter to you.

Stay safe and be well, my friends. We’ll get through this, one day at a time.

Kat Bryant is lifestyle editor of The Daily World and editor of Washington Coast Magazine. Reach her at kbryant@thedailyworld.com or on Facebook.