Day 22

Wow, has it really been two weeks since I've posted? The time has passed by much more quickly than I would have expected. We have completed three full weeks now of not being able to leave the apartment except to go to the grocery store. The rules have gotten stricter in the last couple of weeks. For example, now only one person per household can leave the house at once. For us that means that the kids can't go to the grocery store with a parent anymore.

How have we been passing the days? We're keeping busy. Here's what I've been doing:

• Reading. I have read a lot of books these past few weeks. I am deeply grateful for e-books through OverDrive, access courtesy of the Delaware Division of Libraries and the University of Delaware. My favorite book that I've read during this time was The Witch Elm by Tana French. I also read The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White, The Witches are Coming by Lindy West, and Jessica Simpson's memoir, all of which were enjoyable. And I read some other books that I already don't remember. 
• TV. Since coming to Barcelona we have watched all of Homeland on Showtime. That is seven seasons plus the first two-thirds of season 8 (we just caught up with the live airings). That is a lot of hours of tv. We started this show before the lockdown, but it's still what I consider to be an impressive number of hours booked for a show. I won't even say the show is all that great, but it does pull you in and it does not want you to choose sleep over starting the next episode, even if it is 1:20 a.m., because it knows that time has no meaning anymore. 
• More TV. I also watched all of Cheer on Netflix, a 6-part documentary about cheerleading. I liked it. You might too. 
• More TV. I watched season 2 of Shrill on Hulu and the very brief season 1 of Breeders, also on Hulu. Fun stuff.
• Complaining about the furniture in our apartment. Yes, it's true. Our apartment is awfully big for a city apartment and the morning light is fantastic on a sunny day. But the furniture is horrid and there's nowhere I like to sit. This wasn't such a problem when we were spending huge portions of our days out and about, but now that we're home all the time it is a bummer. 
• Exercising. My back gets sore because of all the reading and sitting in uncomfortable chairs, so I walk around the apartment both to stretch it out and for exercise. My smartwatch broke so I am no longer obsessively tracking steps, but I still make a point of getting in some cardio each day by walking fast laps in the apartment while listening to podcasts. 
• Baking. I've made orange-olive oil cake, dark-chocolate-banana muffins, and brownies. Matt and the boys made chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting for my birthday last week. Yummy.
• Working. I am still lucky to have a paying job and with it comes some responsibilities. I work on projects on my computer and I have several Zoom meetings with colleagues now per week. Luckily, I really, really like my colleagues and it is always nice to see them. And the work keeps me feeling at least somewhat grounded to a purpose other than walking back and forth the length of my apartment 100 times in a row. 
• Worrying that my kids' brains are turning into mush. We are still doing homeschool, but we've relaxed the curriculum somewhat, focusing mostly on math. We are all doing our best. 
• Learning Spanish. Our Spanish classes are still Mondays and Wednesdays for two hours on Skype. I would much prefer in-person classes, but this is what we can have for now. It's such a special opportunity to be able to learn a foreign language in a foreign country and I don't want to give it up, even though my brain hurts by the end of the online classes. For an introvert like me, it is stressful. I have to focus very hard to everything that is said and I don't have the benefit of body language and other social cues to read. But it's good for me and I appreciate the experience. 
• Practicing guitar. We rented a guitar and an electric bass, which we have I think through most of June. Will has learned an impressive amount on the bass, but so far I'm the only one to pick up the guitar. It's a lot of fun. 
• Emailing, texting, and video-chatting with friends and family. I think we're all doing a lot of that. 
• Maniacally scrolling through Twitter. It's neither healthy nor fun, but I am desperate at all times for any new information and I just can't stop. 
• Just hanging out with Matt and the kids.
• Playing pingpong on our dining room table.
• Being sad about all of the people who are sick and dying, unemployed, unprotected, etc.
• Worrying about the fall and wondering how screwed up Will's first year of high school will be.
• Worrying about my class of 190 students in the fall and wondering how much prep I should be putting in to figure out how to transfer my lectures to online. 
• Taking pictures of the views from our windows and stupidly posting them on Instagram.
• Wondering when it will be when we can leave the apartment again.
• Telling people that I am never bored, which is absolutely true. 

So, what are you all doing?