First off, I’d like to start this post by saying that I know how privileged I am. I know that I am incredibly lucky to still have my job and to still be healthy. 

I’m also incredibly grateful for the fact that I seem to be well suited to quarantine. Today (Saturday), for example, was absolutely lovely. I woke up at 7:00 AM, looked at my clock, and decided to go back to sleep for another hour. Then I got up, made some tea, wrote for a little while, then took out my trash and recycling. This was followed by a quick chat with friends (while 10 feet apart), a small workout, then making some lunch for myself. A short video chat with my family—something else that I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for—is followed by another video chat with friends. 

Now, I’m back upstairs writing this post before lying back to read my book. 

All in all, a completely delightful day. Not to mention the fact that it feels like I don’t have enough time for everything that I want to do. I don’t have enough time to read. I don’t have enough time to clean. I don’t have enough time to start my new puzzle. 

And if that’s the case, what in the world was I doing before being quarantined. If I don’t think I have enough time now, I certainly had even less time then. 

This thought then spurs on questions about the future. 

What will it be like when we leave quarantine and return to our regular routines? Once we’ve become used to working and living this way, how will we make the transition back to our previously normal lives? 

To be honest, the thought makes me feel a bit queasy. 

I even wonder if I’ll have a harder time transitioning out of quarantine than I did transitioning into it. 

**I’ll also throw in this caveat: while everyone else was adjusting to life in quarantine and working from home, all of my energy was focused on my dad and praying for his recovery. So working from home, staying away from other people, not leaving my house—none of that seemed too big an issue for me. 

In fact, understanding the gravity of the situation because of this personal situation made staying in easy. I understood who was counting on me to do so: everyone. We have to avoid spreading this thing. This thing that took away my dad’s breath. That made him so close to death that he called me to say that he was proud of me, he loved me, and that he just wanted to say goodbye. That made his doctors wonder if their first Coronavirus patient would not make it through the night, and that filled them with fear as well. 

So my situation is different from some others. 

But now that he’s in recovery, I’ve found that my relaxed mind has loved being able to read and write at my own leisure. To start work early so that I can often end my day right at five to write my stories or read my mystery novel. I love the fact that I can get up and go for a run before anyone else is awake, then return home, shower, and start working before my shuttle would have even dropped me off at my office.  

I love that I take time to make meals. That I cook breakfast and can enjoy it carefully at my own coffee table. I love that dinners are at my preferred early hour yet I can still watch my favorite Netflix show while I eat. I love that I can stretch or do some yoga in the afternoon. I’ve enjoyed working as natural light floods in from my windows and my little standing desk made of books next to my favorite teakwood and tobacco candle. 

And the truth is, I’ve liked being isolated. 

I’ve noticed that I have this quality that adjusts to whatever social environment I put myself into. Maybe it’s from all of those years playing alone at my brother’s baseball practices. Maybe it’s from being a bit odd (but also having an amazing group of friends who made socializing fun). I just seem to enjoy both being alone and being with other people.

However, I find that transitioning from one mindset to the other is a bit difficult. I struggle to communicate correctly, to read the situation, to be interested in carefree topics after I’ve been alone for so long. It’s almost as though I forget what it’s like to be human; how do I interact with others?

This, plus having a more regulated and constrained timeline worry me. Especially as we continue to live in this quarantined way for another month (or two if we’re being honest with ourselves).

I don’t really know what to expect come May or June or whenever we try to adjust back into our former selves. 

What do you think? How will you transition back to your normal self? Or are you not even thinking about that yet? Us Capricorns… always looking ahead or behind. Why not just stay in the present? Sheesh!

Stay safe out there, everyone. And take some time to be grateful for what this situation has given us—even though it has taken so much else away.