Dialing Back During a Pandemic

Well….  Wow… In what seems like just a few days since I wrote my last post, the world has changed dramatically… The last time we humans experienced a global pandemic of this scale was during the 1918 influenza pandemic often referred to as the Spanish Flu. The 1918 pandemic infected approximately one quarter of the worlds population of which 17+ million people lost their lives.

 

So, here we are in the midst of a new pandemic, what feels like a cultural watershed moment of momentous proportion, the likes of which virtually anybody alive has never known. Every day feels like we are triaging for what’s next. Beyond the tragic loss of so many lives (and they are tragic), we are living in a suspended state of constant fear of what’s happening minute by minute. Many of us are hunkering down in our homes, worried about what is to come, worried about our jobs (or now lack thereof), and strangely obsessed with hoarding toilet paper. It’s as if life has become this giant Hollywood movie and most of us are the extras on the set. Only this sh*t is real and it is really happening.

 

So, how are we doing? For the most part, Yoav and I are good. We are comfortably hunkered down in our rowhouse. As a recent cancer survivor, still recovering from surgery, I am considered immune compromised and I need to take extra precautions. I am essentially self quarantining. I only venture out to go to the park across the street and an occasional walk around the neighborhood (keeping my distance from others of course). Yoav is doing the errands (what an angel) for provisions as needed, trying to minimize trips to the store. Grocery delivery is an option, and we did a big order last week, but the current “next available” delivery window is running about eight days out (last Wednesday order will be delivered this Thursday). Too long to wait when you need another bag of Pop-Chips.

 

So, to the point of this post. I’d been working on a somewhat lengthy post outlining our plans for the house for the next couple of years and beyond. I completed the post, culled images, and scheduled it to go live last Monday morning… And then quickly deleted it before it went live. I realized that the content of the post was suddenly irrelevant and out of touch to what was happening in the world around us. I felt it foolish to seriously think I can plan the next couple of years of home improvement when I know nothing about what is happening in the next six months, let alone the next couple of years. We need to be dialing back during this pandemic and likely for a while thereafter.

Dialing back; Projects now on indefinite hold:

Phase two of our Staircase Restoration Project: I just posted with much excitement having completed the first phase of our plans to restore our 1852 staircase only two weeks ago. We were next planning to hire strippers to come in and remove the century plus build up of paint. But that will have to wait for now. At least the staircase is solid and not going anywhere.

Master Suite: Last year was supposed to be the year that we completed the renovation of our master suite. This involves converting a small odd shaped bedroom into our master bath and closet, and renovating the adjacent master bedroom. Then I lost my mojo (which turned out later to be cancer) and wasn’t able to accomplish much beyond daydreaming and blogging about ideas and plans.

Whole house air-conditioning: As part of our build out of the new master bath, we planned to simultaneously install whole house air-conditioning. However, it looks like we will have at least one more summer of using four window shakers to keep things cool.

 

Things we can do:

Just because we will be dialing back and putting our bigger plans on hold does not mean we cannot turn our attention to smaller projects which can be accomplished without spending a ton of money. The biggest of which is the parlor. We have already acquired much of what we need for finishing the parlor (medallion, chandelier, etc…), so we are comfortable with spending the money on the remaining materials such as paint, picture rail, art lighting, and a few surprises.

Another spot I would like to work on is our small vestibule. At three by five feet, it is the first thing you see when you open the front door. It would be nice to have that small area completed, giving us something nice to walk into every time we come home.

Other things could include the screen door for the back entrance, stripping paint from the doors, and more. These doable projects will be the focus of upcoming posts, especially getting to work on the parlor. We moved in two years ago, and not one room is really finished. It is time…. We desperately need one room which we can enjoy without thinking about all that needs to be done to it.

 

We will get through this

Getting back to what is going on around us right now… As of yesterday, our zip code had the second highest number of confirmed cases, and that number is only going to go up. Am I scared? You bet I am! But I am not giving up hope and I am hugely grateful for all that we have as we shelter in place in our comfortable (if very unfinished) home.

My gratitude doesn’t end there…. I have unending gratitude for the heroics of our healthcare workers and all those who are literally putting themselves at risk to show up and get the job done. I especially want to celebrate the hourly grunt workers (hellos check-out clerks!) who are so undervalued yet are also heroic in doing their daily jobs while putting themselves at risk. Thank you for all that you do.

And for those who are suddenly and unexpectedly out of work, my heart goes out to you. The immediate loss of income is stressful and can be devastating. When I was in my early twenties, I experienced being homeless, living out of my car or sofa surfing, for about three months. I lost everything but my car and the clothes on my back (long story). I can’t know each individual’s situation, but my heart understands the fear and anxiety that goes along with not knowing how

 

To think this whole thing will blow over and life will return to normal as it was, is, in my opinion, a very shortsighted view. People are dying… We will definitely know people who have lived through the experience of having the virus, and we may lose people we know to the virus. Life as we knew it one month ago will never be the same. It can’t be… Whether we like it or not, this is a major cultural shift that impacts us all.

We have no idea how long this will last, or even how bad this will get. For now all we can do is do our best to ride this out, quarantine or shelter in place as needed, and trust that we will get through this and emerge changed, but still strong in our endeavors.

You can expect my next post to be more on the cheery side as I plan to outline our plans for the parlor. We may be dialing back on our projects, but I can still get things done with style.