Pandemic Diaries
Dispatches from Country Roads staff.
Since March, readers of our “This Week” e-newsletter might have noticed a shift in content. Included with our typical roundup of weekend events, we’ve also started offering glimpses into each member of our editorial team’s individual experiences during this historic time. In mini-essays telling of drive-by birthdays, the art of Zoom hangouts, the exercise of letter-writing, and even an ode to Victoria’s Secret Amber Romance, we’ve enjoyed documenting a little of what our last few months have been like, and connecting through the empathy of this confusing collective moment.
So in this space, we’ve decided to feature the various ways in which we and the rest of our staff have been spending our time, in hopes that you’ll return the sentiment. We’d love to hear your reflections, your funny stories, and your rambles describing your experience these past three months, and we may even decide to share some! Send us an email at jordan@countryroadsmag.com.
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With very little traffic going by and perfect weather, listening to the morning chirps on the front porch and watching more than a handful of blue jays torment the neighborhood cats kept us giggling. Well, that and experimenting with tequila and fried cheese tacos, which is, let me tell you ... life changing. Well worth the Google.
As a movie lover, quarantine has meant time spent catching up on my constantly revolving queue, and I’ve found myself turning to films that ordinarily wouldn’t be at the top of my watchlist for a sense of comfort. Stand-up comedy, old children’s movies, and B horror flicks allow me to turn my brain off and escape into worlds full of humor, familiarity, and delightful absurdity when I need it most.
At first, I spent much of my time deep inside books, reading only fantasies or classics safely removed from COVID-19. When I did finally emerge, it was to realize that—since I had moved back into my family home to self-isolate—I had an opportunity to spend intentional time with my family, so it was nice to play board games or sneak around the garden with my parents and siblings, just experiencing history together.
During quarantine I’ve cooked so much more —dinners every night for two months straight. I’ve gained a lot of satisfaction from this, setting a pretty table with linens and flowers. And perhaps it’s been important to me to be in control of something.
Also, I’ve gardened my little green heart out. It was a joy to have so much extra time to plan and play in the dirt. In good times, I get great happiness from my time in the garden. What I’ve found is that in hard times it calms me, gives me room to breathe deeply, keeps me sane. This April, in a low-lying, wet area, I created a Louisiana Iris bed. Throughout the month I gathered and dug new plants to add. Specifically, some luminescent treasures from my Aunt Edna in Natchez.
Oh, and I’ve gone ridiculous lengths of time not washing my hair … But they say that is good for it, right?
Reading has always been a favorite pastime of mine, but during the quarantine, I've taken it to a whole new level. According to my Goodreads, I've devoured twenty-six books so far this year, most of those in March and April. Besides reading at a mad pace, I've been enjoying time with my husband, playing video games, making ungodly amounts of watercolor paints (and selling quite a bit too, I'm happy to say!), and taking advantage of the Google Chrome extension Netflix Party with friends.
In March, I (with sporadic assistance from teenaged children) built a deer-proof vegetable garden, and adopted a puppy. In April, I took to grinding my own flour to make mediocre sourdough bread. By May, I was onto homemade venison jerky. Bathtub gin is only a matter of time. I still haven’t had a haircut.
I've been spending much more time with my family back in Luling, playing with two new puppies, and remodeling my childhood home. I've also been enjoying evening walks on the levee, online shopping, and steadily making my way through the Netflix recommended gallery.
Growing up, my only real exposure to gardening was not “gardening”— it was weeding my mother’s garden as a chore … so I “hated” gardening. When I got married and moved to St. Francisville, I landed on my husband’s beautiful property, once owned by a legendary gardener from this area, no pressure. Suffice it to say that after two and a half years, quarantine gave me the time and the desire to create and complete three—going on four—gardens that I feel would make Miss Jackie proud. So far everything is alive, but I am still not looking forward to when it is time to weed.
Something that has pre-occupied me a lot during this time has been finding ways to celebrate the milestones of this year, even though they look different. I’ve spent so much, very rewarding, energy writing cards, ordering gifts, and dreaming up ways to make all of the graduations, the birthdays, the baby showers special with decorations and drive-thrus and handwritten notes. If this has taught me anything, it’s that love can be shown in infinite ways. You just have to be creative.