Día 7

Today is the last day of the first week of our lockdown. I think other towns in Spain have been in lockdown a few days longer, but the nationwide home confinement started last Saturday. A week ago we were already being cautious about interactions, but we left the house to go to a farmer's market in the square down the street from our apartment. We bought some beautiful cheeses, the yummiest sausage I've ever had, and some candy for the kids. And that was the last time I left the apartment! Matt and the boys have been to the grocery store, but it's not much of an outing because it takes 30 seconds to walk there.

The first several days at home weren't bad at all. There was this spirit that we were in this thing together with the rest of the world and we were just doing our part to help by staying home. I read a bunch of books, cleaned the apartment to a standard I suspect it hadn't seen in months if not longer, watched some television, played some games, did some YouTube Zumba, and texted and video-chatted with family and friends. We had our first online Spanish class on Monday, which was intense, but very good. I missed my long walks around town but it wasn't bad and the days went by pretty quickly.

Then on Wednesday I woke up with a migraine and had to miss Spanish class. I was in bed for most of the day and felt lousy until the next morning, which was yesterday. Although I felt physically better yesterday, I think the weight of not knowing how long this all will last hit hard and it was a pretty low day. And I wasn't the only one feeling that way. Will and Ryan fought with each other every time they were in a room together. Even Matt, who is usually pretty stolid, was short-tempered and struggled to make even inconsequential decisions. We had more or less pulled it back together again by evening, but I wanted to try to make sure Friday (today) started off better.

First things first, it was a beautiful morning (view from my bedroom window this morning*):

Having slept poorly last night, I was determined to get more exercise today that I have been. Before the lockdown I had been logging at least 10,000 steps per day, often more like 15,000-17,000, and being stuck inside all the time has significantly hampered my physical activity. So I put on a podcast and, as stupid as it sounds, started walking up and down the length of the apartment. It was pretty calming and actually sort of fun. It was a good way to start the day anyway, and today has been much, much better than yesterday. I baked brownies with Will and tidied the apartment, but mostly I've been walking around just trying to be active. My goal is 5,000 steps per day in the apartment.** I think it will help me keep sane. 

I hope you all are keeping safe and healthy and making the best of this situation. I read that the U.S. has started closing down more businesses and restricting citizens to fewer activities outside the house.  I understand that the effects of the pandemic will last for months and years, but I really, really hope that these measures make a difference and decrease the impact of the virus. Selfishly, I want to be able to walk around Barcelona again before our time here ends. There is so much that we have not had the chance to see and do. 

*Happy birthday, Mom!

**5,000+ steps achieved today