Things That Are Happening in My House That I Could Not Have Imagined Two Months Ago

In my garage: a squat rack consisting of buckets, cement, and sawed wood has been assembled and is (more patiently than me) awaiting a barbell.  I work out almost daily in the growing garage gym, often with one or two of my sons...which would have been barely conceivable previously.

Batgirl looking for warmth, April 2020

In the basement: a lizard called Confucius has found a temporary refuge where he may not be getting enough live crickets to be happy. It's hard to tell but he seems awfully immobile and un-exhilarated to me.

Not that I'm any good at dragon lizard mental status exams.

Moving to an animal I understand better: on the first floor, where I have installed my headquarters, close to sunlight, kitchen and decent wifi and initially away from my youngest now online schooled son's room (but now perilously under the room of the lizard owning son who rejoined the household after he got sick a couple weeks ago), our cat batgirl has settled on my computer as her new favorite source of heat.

It's annoying when I forget to close it: she has been known to email the customer service at amazon to protest pandemic delays on her Sheba monthly box delivery.

The other cat vomited on my brand new ABPN Psychiatry recertification diploma, near the computer: possibly a form of communication as well.

Moving to the kitchen: we have an abundance of cooks in the house including another basement inhabitant, more useful and lively than Confucius. I have to say that when the fragrances float up to my bedroom at night (I go to bed earlier than everybody else), I am happy that my house is serving as a home, feeding a little community of shipwrecked pandemic humans, one lizard and two cats.

There is one more basement inhabitant: he is teaching me about Dragon Ball Z, which is potentially helpful for a child psychiatrist, as you can never have enough metaphors when talking to kids and teens (and even their parents but they grew to different myths and stories.)

On the second floor: all my sons, each emanating a different music and conversations, and me, just me. Their dad, my husband, is 2076 miles away, which is already far but we are now further separated by a pandemic, jobs at different institutions and related restrictions and responsibilities.

We've had 2 quarantines: one in my room when I had symptoms about three weeks ago and one in my middle son's room. He was sick for eight days. I shared my bathroom with the other boys, them sometimes trying to shower at 1 am, the time they go to bed.

Having tele-clinic and zoom meetings in the house with all this little community is a work in progress: there are wifi issues and sound issues and cats joining sessions issues and (I swear) even marketers issues.  One knocked at the door and then jumped backward proclaiming social distancing practices.

In one month, from my house, I have met more patients' pets (often ones I had heard about for years) than I ever have. I have to say that is one very good thing.

Now if only my barbell could have arrived tonight as planned....

Love to All,


Anne