DAY 4: COVID-19 BY MY LONESOME

DAY 4

I had no idea what day it was today. Ugh. I had to ask a coworker. I suppose I could have just looked at my phone since it's always in my hand. So in that sense, it feels like a vacation, except it's not. Dang, just realized this very second that today's date is in the bottom right corner of my computer screen. Jeez. Sometimes I can be such an airhead (but I'm actually smart, just in different ways).

I slept in the same clothes again. It's Friday morning, and I woke up with Wednesday's sweats on! Oops. Clearly, my first goal was to take a shower. Longest shower ever. It felt fabulous. Not only did I shower, I put on real clothes, makeup, and even did my hair. Whoooooop! Note to self: Chrisie, remember how good that felt! No one would really see me, so I took a selfie for someone special in my life. I needed to capture this moment in time.

Work was uneventful, other than some technical difficulties trying to do a Teams conference call with my boss and two other coworkers in our own "chat." Somehow, we merged with the rest of the department in their own conference call. It made for some good banter, and eventually, it worked itself out. We'll have to do some more research there, though! My dear Wyatt, for whatever reason, chose this exact time to literally jump like a puppy all over the couch and make silly noises! He's 14, y'all! He's never done that (at least not for years). His timing was impeccable (NOT, though I was super happy to see it). I wonder if it was hearing other people's voices that got him excited. Well, excuuuuse me, mister. Clearly, he makes his feelings known! Like DogMom, like DogSon. Okay, maybe it's because I'm alone and I don't talk? I need to make it a point to talk to my dog. In fact, perhaps I can give him a play by play daily, so that come the next conference call he won't be yearning for others. Anyway.....I did reach out to one of my coworkers, who is also a middle-aged woman living alone. She and I are "smoking" partners at work. Dang, I just let that cat out of the bag. I had quit for 6 years and then restarted, hence my virusphobe self now. I emailed her, as though we were across the aisle at work, and said: "Want to go out for a cig?" She replied, "Headed there now." I enjoyed our telephone conversation!

I had two "my days and minutes are running together" moments. First, let me say my 23andme.com results show I have a lower than average chance of having Alzheimer's. However, my Grandma and Great-Grandma both were afflicted with dementia. My Mom has decided that she'll be sure she heads to Washington state before that happens (make your own inferences there). Having managed assisted living and memory care residences for 10+ years, I am intimately familiar with dementia. As such, I started warning my kids YEARS ago that I would be the one walking around naked, spewing profanities. Oh, wait, okay, so then, when I have dementia, maybe I'll be the opposite of how I usually am? Anyway, they're prepared. Okay, back to my two moments. I could not remember if the image I had of me taking my medicine this morning was from yesterday or today. After an intense internal deliberation, I said: "screw it!" And then chuckled inside my head, quite loudly, "wouldn't that be funny if I died of a drug overdose and not COVID-19?" A few hours later, I was just fine, though. The second moment came at brunch time. I got sidetracked when looking for something to eat. I had decided to make a couple jars of super healthy steel oats, yogurt, and blueberries (overnight oats). After making the oats, I went about my business. My stomach started growling big time, and I couldn't recall if I ever find something to eat? I couldn't look in the sink because I had already emptied the sink and started the dishwasher. I opened the fridge looking for missing food as evidence. Aha! I drank a protein shake. O.M.G. I am confident I do not have dementia. Still, I am wondering what a constant state of "aloneness" might do to a person.

I discovered TikTok today. Where have you been all my life???? I had another day of no tears and lots of laughs! Those people are F-U-N-N-Y! Considering it's a Friday night (right?) and it feels like it's any other evening, I think I may just be TikTok'ing into the evening. It's better than nothing but not necessarily better than my usual weekend life of going out with friends to dance or listen to bands. Remember, I'm reliving my 20's. However, I'm feeling all of 52 right now stuck in this house. At least I can sit glued to the boob tube tonight looking decent enough with my outfit and curled hair. And yes, that IS a scarf/hair tie/bandana/face mask around my neck. :-) By the way, I died laughing the other day from this TikTok. So funny!

P.S. I forgot....so I tend to buy those silly products you find on Facebook. Last night, since I knew I'd be home and no one would see me, I used my face scraping tool. You basically take off the top layer of skin cells so they can regrow and take off any blemishes. Yep, so I have red dots and inflamed spots. Ignore.