A Day in the Life - week 4

Our days seem to have settled into a pattern of two types of day. Some days everyone wakes up crotchety and out of self-preservation we all keep to ourselves all day. Other days the kids bond, usually over baking, and everyone seems rested, so there is a lightness and ease to the day. It is a tricky thing, seeing so much of each other, all being under one roof. All the time. But people have done this before, I keep telling myself, and not just for plagues. I think about long sea voyages, snowed-in winters, convalescences. 

Yesterday was one of the good days and the kids made a skillet cookie drizzled with home-made caramel. It will be a very bizarre thing, but it is possible our main memory of this time will be of the kids making yummy baked goods.

This week was strange in that there was no online school - it was spring break. The kids just did whatever they wanted. It wasn't as though we could go anywhere. We had planned a trip to Sequoia National Park but cancelled it once travel was not recommended here in California. The farthest I've been this week is over to my friends' house to pick up groceries - a 10 minute drive. 

Mrs M&M has been buying groceries for us on her weekly shopping trips. We stood for a while outside her garage chatting. We talk about the strange things missing from the grocery stores this week. Onions and garlic. Tea. But then she suddenly remembered that Mr M&M was on a conference call in their car and we should keep it down! Turns out the car has become his favourite place to work - he gets too easily distracted by everyone in the house so has made up a little home office in the back of the car and spends most of the day in there!

This is how two old friends meet these days as we sit for a moment after the delicate procedure of transferring groceries from her quarantine zone to mine:

My friend is an optimist so I find it heartening to talk to her. But she has had a difficult week. She works in the science museum business and had taken part in some online meetings with museums across the country. Museums are laying off huge numbers of staff. It is one of those surprising side-effects of the lockdown, but when you think about it, of course they are. At the Exploratorium in San Francisco 85% of the staff will be affected by furloughs and layoffs. Much of the talk on these calls, my friend said, was about whether museums could reopen this summer.  Other museums don't think they will be able to re-open. Ever. Even with her optimism, she thought her colleagues talking about summer openings were a little out to lunch. Would the public really be going back to interactive science museums this summer? The latest data shows the virus survives on touch-screens for nine days! Even with nightly deep cleaning, when will we all feel confident again? Talk turned to when our kids were small and going to museums was a constant battle to keep things out of the kids' mouths, usually the kids won and we would shrug and say, well, it builds immunity. ThingTwo in particular would gnaw on everything. She doesn't get sick that much these days. It is amazing really how well the human body works when it isn't overwhelmed.

Then my optimistic friend said, "Really, if we don't all die it will be a win." And I remembered where we were and what was going on. 

This has been the week of breakages -  I'm not sure if it is tiredness or just that we are using the house hard. Between us we've broken a glass, a thermometer, a storage jar, a pair of eye-glasses, and three beautiful little japanese bowls lovingly bought on one of my first post-surgery outings. Pepper goes and hides outside whenever something breaks - mainly because the vacuum cleaner comes out and if there is one thing in life he loathes, it is our little red vacuum. Strangely he doesn't mind the robot vacuum we have at all. Gently gives it little nose-investigatory kisses. 

ThingTwo conducted the interviews this week. 

ThingTwo: Hello it is 7.11pm on April 10 and I'm going to ask people questions. Ok. ThingOne
What was your favourite age and why?

ThingOne: Now because I'm having fun.

ThingTwo: Now? Ok. Cool. What is your greatest skill that only you have in this family?

ThingOne: Skate. [To the uninitiated this is skateboarding - if you do it, you just call it skating. If you don't, you call it skateboarding.]

ThingTwo: What is your favourite song?

ThingOne: Uhhhh I can't say there are so many I really like. Um. I like Disorder by Joy Division. That's a great song.

ThingTwo: Ok. Favourite balloon?

[All laugh - the questions were hand-written, everyone got to think of two questions and she can't read ThingOne's handwriting.]

ThingTwo: Oh, right, what is one of your favourite band albums?

ThingOne: I like Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division.

ThingTwo: What is something you have never done in your life before but have had to do now?

ThingOne: Wait to open packages - it's annoying. But also my bike rides. They are good. 

ThingTwo: If you were a colour what colour would you be?

ThingOne: I like the colour green but I think I'd be the colour orange.

ThingTwo: What is an idea for a great vacation?

ThingOne: Japan.

ThingTwo: What are some features of your perfect job?

ThingOne: Money. [All laugh.] For it to not be stupid boring and go on fun trips. Ok. I'm going to go brush my teeth. 

ThingOne: Ok. Dad. What is your favourite age and why?

Mr H: I don't have a single favourite but there are a few ages that really stand out. So now is really fun. When you kids were little was a really special time, when you were babies it was a short and interesting, exciting time. And then when I was a post-doc and Mum and I lived in California together. 

ThingTwo: Ok. What is your great skill that only you have in the family?

Mr H: I can reach things from high places. 

ThingTwo: Ha yeah. Actually, I can reach things from high places, I just stand on a chair.

Mr H: Oh, I guess I'm not as special as I thought.

ThingTwo: What is your favourite song? And album? 

Mr H: I don't have a single one, but a song I like is Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits. An album really important to me as  kid was Substance by New Order and another of my favourites is Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk. 

ThingTwo: What is something you've never done in your life before but have to do now?

Mr H: Having you kids baking every day and also going for runs together is really fun.

ThingTwo: If you were a colour what colour would you be?

Mr H: Charcoal grey. 

ThingTwo: That's not a colour, that's a shade. 

Mr H: I think it is a kind of colour?

ThingTwo: Ok. Well, what is your idea of a secret... I mean, what does that say? Oh yes, a great vacation? 

Mr H: I'd like to stay in a cottage with a pool by a beach where we can go diving and snorkelling and swimming and bbq in the evening. 

ThingTwo: [Starts whispering:] Big boulder! Big Boulder! Remember you've always talked about wanting a big boulder?

Mr H: Big boulder? I want a big boulder but that is more for life not just for vacations. 

ThingTwo: What are some features of your perfect job?

Mr H: Interesting people to work with, creative work, like programming, and writing, and talking, and um, travel, I really enjoyed that part of being a professor and I don't get to do that much now and I miss it, but I do all the others. 

[All start laughing a lot because whenThingOne went to the bathroom to brush his teeth he took a mini portable speaker while him and the music has been swelling for a while - Beethoven for some reason - but now it has got really really loud.]

ThingTwo: Ok. Mum. What was your favourite age and why?

Me: I really liked ten - fun year, went to Australia and lived in the US. And 1984 - great year. And the year I turned 30 in LA and 40 in Canada. Best was probably when I turned 40.

ThingTwo: What is a skill that only you have in the universe?

Me: The universe? That's not fair!

ThingTwo: Ok in the family. [whispering... I know, I know... Commitment... commitment] Ha ha, commitment, none of us commit to anything! 

Me: Really, ha ha, I do really like routine. Doing the same thing every day makes me really happy.

ThingTwo: Yes, you commit to your routines! Ok, what is your favourite song? And album?

Me: Happy Birthday. And album? We had this record when I was a kid of Disney songs. I liked that. 

ThingTwo: What is something you've done now you've never done before?

Me: Washing groceries. Never done that before. 

ThingTwo: If you were a colour what colour would you be?

Me: Azure.

ThingTwo: What is your secret vacation?

Me: I would like to go to Malaysia or the tropical part of Japan. A beach holiday but in Asia. 

ThingTwo: What are features of your favourite job?

Me: [Long silence] Getting paid to do something I love. This is too difficult a question right now. 

ThingTwo: Maybe making routines for people?

ThingTwo: Ok my turn! 

My favourite age was when I was a month old because I didn't have to do anything, no school, and I think why is that I wish I was a baby now because I wouldn't really know what is happening and I wouldn't really care and I'd just get cared for. Also I looked so cute. 

My skill is flexibility. But I'll soon lose it probably.
Me: No - why do you say that? You just have to do it every day! Routine!

My favourite song is Help! by the Beatles and the album Help! 

I'm going to remember during this time how me and ThingOne spent more time together. 
I would be the colour green, obviously. 

My great vacation would be to stay in a muddy farm and I ride horses everyday get so tired everyday but I'd be happy for the rest of my life. Also it would be in Canada. Important fact. 

My perfect job has horses, involves cats, involves money, involves being in Canada, and involves being with friends.