Tuesday, May 05, 2020

Something-splaining "Sheltering in Place" in an apartment


My husband, our son, and I share a two-bedroom apartment with exactly one bathroom (no "powder room").  Years ago, when some relatives of ours lived in a large house in a New York City suburb, I used to joke that we could fit our entire apartment in one third of their main floor. 

And one of my relatives had to move to temporary housing due to construction--they are currently *sharing* a studio apartment.

Yes, I'm happy that some of you have room to store a month's worth of food.  Would that I could say the same.  We store non-perishable food for Pesach (Passover) on garbage bags laid out on part of our bedroom floor, which creates a safety hazard when we get out of bed.  Where could we possibly store an entire month's worth of food? 

Yes, I'm happy to read that someone's spouse, a doctor, is isolating themselves in their den to prevent themselves from spreading COVID-19 to their family, or that others are self-quarantining in separate bedrooms with separate bathrooms.  Either option would be a great idea, if we had either option.

If one of us gets the coronavirus, it's likely that all three of us will get it, because quarantining oneself for 14 days in a bedroom that one can cross in eight steps (or less, with no street view, in the case of our son's bedroom), and texting a warning every time we have to use the bathroom will be difficult, if not impossible.

So yes, we go for a walk every day when the weather is decent.  We wear face masks, of course, and try to stick to nearby streets that have wider sidewalks than our own street has.  Our daily walk will get more difficult as the weather gets better, since social distancing will become more challenging as more people come out to enjoy some time in the sun--we (and probably half the neighborhood) will have to try to go out at about 7 AM in the hope of avoiding the crowds.  But apartment-dwellers, especially city-dwellers, particularly those with young children, just don't have a lot of choices.

My family is doing the best we can to keep ourselves and others safe and healthy.  Please don't hold it against us if you meet us--at a six-foot distance--outdoors.

Labels:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

<< List
Jewish Bloggers
Join >>