Spring break day 1: Get in the car and drive around downtown Chicago to take in the Covid-19 desolation. It wasn’t all that desolate--it was pretty much downtown on a Sunday morning with all the shops dark and a few boarded up against looters. It was slightly reminiscent of a war zone but a war zone that was staged for pretend war rather than one that is actually happening.

Spring break day 2: I am out of ideas. 

That’s not entirely true, by which I mean that’s not at all true. I always have ideas; it’s just that no one else likes them. It’s kind of my story.

I have made a number of lists of spring break/quarantine activities, but each one has been rejected--and they are not all cleaning and organizing, though those are the best ones. They range from walking the dog (I’ll do it later) to shredding papers (How much will you pay me?) to clearing out and reorganizing the pantry (No.). 

Today it will be 73 and mostly sunny in Chicago. If no one will join me on spring break--from a socially safe distance or no--I will take selfies of my staycation, corona-pocalypse glamour shots.

Frame 1: She’s been up since 5am working in her office--writing, planning, talking with her family/co-workers. She’s make-up free and unwashed, but with the sun streaming in she looks radiant, focused, and happy. It’s nice to be home.

Frame 2: With the morning’s blog posted and emails complete, she goes for a mid-day run with the dog. They are both thrilled to get outside and enjoy running on the nearly empty streets and sidewalks. The neighborhood is theirs.

Frame 3: Sweaty from their run, the dog collapses for a nap while she powers through folding laundry, loading the dishwasher, and sweeping the hardwood floors before showering. The kids are playing in the yard and her husband, who is not on spring break, is hard at work at the dining room table. Everyone has a place and it gives her a sense of peace.

Frame 4:  She enjoys a light lunch of avocado toast while using her smartphone to catch up on social media from a social distance on the way back to her home office.

Frame 5: She hosts a Zoom conference to deliver a Zoom workshop and orders an Instacart grocery delivery. Everything she wants is available. She got vanilla, chocolate chips, and almond flour because she actually has time now to make all those recipes she’s saved on Pinterest. Enjoli.

Frame 6: Finally, her at-home workday is over and she changes into a sundress for quarantinis on the front lawn with her 6-feet-away neighbor amidst the daffodils which are just blooming under the budding Japanese Maple.

Life in the corona is the staycation you never wanted. Though it is more stay than cation. But, if you are honest, there is quite a bit of cation. This is not to say it’s all fun, but it is life away from the expected; it’s a break away from routine. Think about those real vacations you used to have abroad or on a cruise or perhaps in Michigan, didn’t you want to stay there? Even if you didn’t want to live there, couldn’t you have stayed just a bit longer? We are making it all up right now--story-boarding a new story. Give your story an end that includes all that is photo-ready, all that is zoom and instant and avocado toast. Keep the cation once we rid ourselves of the stay. 

Spring break day 3: The forecast is for 64 degrees and rain in Chicago. But right now, the sun is streaming through my glass block basement windows, and the day awaits my direction.