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.
Saturday, 3/27/2020
Dear Journal: It was our daughter’s fifth birthday. For months, she’d wanted to go to that kid’s place with the creepy animatronic mice and the ball pit ‘o filth. Some friends have said it’s gotten better, but I wasn’t excited about it. If you couldn’t tell. Anyway, we promised to take her and a few friends because a 4-year-old can wear you down until you agree to just about anything. But as we all know, plans change.
We had a small party at home instead, just family. Yes, I could have ordered a cake and picked it up, but I had it in my head that I was going to make that special, purple princess cake. The first one didn’t rise. I forgot the baking soda. Cake number two was light and fluffy — and completely fell apart. I thought about giving up, but I couldn’t. So yes, I persevered and baked a third cake. I slathered it in buttercream, and decorated it with princesses. The smile on my girl’s face was worth it.
Some might ask if this story has a point. It does. We need to persevere and keep the goal of this self-quarantine in sight. It’s not a silly cake but a flattened curve to keep our hospitals from being overrun. Not for one kid’s birthday, but for everyone at risk to have more birthdays. We have to keep going, even when we want to quit. Sure, I’d like to be in church by Easter, but from what I hear fifteen days will not be nearly enough. We need to persevere until the job is done. A half-baked cake is a disappointment, but a half-complete quarantine — people we love will die.
Unless you’re on the frontlines, we have to protect those most vulnerable around us by staying home. Our family can do animatronic mice next year. This year, time together with loved ones, even over video chat, was much more special. This quarantine, for as long as it takes, is what we do for our community, for our country. This is something we do out of love.
Song of the day: “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent
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
