Quarantine Life Sucks

I hate to admit it, but I have secretly dreamed of being quarantined. A few days by myself with a couple of good books sounded like a vacation.

What I didn’t picture is being quarantined with my three teenagers and husband.

Every day is like Groundhog Day. I wake up, make breakfast, clean the kitchen, make lunch, clean the kitchen, make dinner and clean the kitchen. I unload the dishwasher, load it and unload it again. These people expect me to feed them three to four times a day. My daughter asks if we have any avocados. No, sorry honey, we are in a worldwide pandemic eat your fucking chicken noodle soup.

My kids seem to think this is one big snow day. They constantly fight and call my name. There are only so many rooms I can hide in. I am not sure what day of the week it is, and I haven’t washed my hair in five days. My roots are starting to reveal my true hair color which I thought was brown but apparently is grey.

I had good intentions. I thought maybe I would try a few of those online exercise classes or dust off the treadmill. There’s a pile of pictures that really need to go into an album and my closet could use some organizing.

Instead, when I am not cooking or cleaning, I binge watch Netflix and eat chips. I found some old board games in the hope of a family night, but everyone is busy with their virtual schoolwork which seems to include making Tik Toks and snapchatting. Like every other good mom, I went to the grocery store and stocked up on canned goods, but I never imagined the liquor store would close.

What am I supposed to do? I have six bottles of chardonnay that will barely get me through the week. Can I barter chicken noodle soup for wine?

I know it doesn’t just suck for me and many people have it far worse. All of our lives have changed in a matter of weeks. For years I have complained about our busy schedules and now I miss the colored boxes that once filled my calendar.

I feel sad for my daughters. One will miss her senior prom and graduation and the other will not be returning to college until the fall. But I just can’t sit here and look at the constant updates on my phone that tell me the world is ending. I need to find humor despite the fact that my house looks like a fraternity.

There is comfort knowing that I am not alone. Parents across the world are facing the same chaos of kids being homeschooled and working from home. I look forward to the day I can meet a friend for coffee without having to stand six feet apart.

But for now, we are all in this together.