dual personalities

I am back to the east coast safe and sound after cutting my trip short by a day. I can now “self isolate” for at least 2 weeks (conveniently aligning with spring break anyway) and we will all hope things don’t get too much worse. Being in St. Louis was definitely a calmer vibe than being in a densely populated city. “Social distancing” comes naturally when the grocery stores are larger, restaurants less jam packed, and living quarters aren’t on top of each other.

Of course, it was particularly nice to be celebrating a baby shower and seeing my family one last time as “just me!”

Mom & sister time is the best treat

Childhood friends braved airports to join us

It was so lovely to open everyone’s sweet gifts and get started on a collection of soft baby clothes and swaddles. I hadn’t made a registry or declared a nursery theme or really thought much at all about all the gear, so it was funny how naturally everyone can pick out lovely things that go together — it turns out, a theme emerged on its own: bunnies! Lots of cute bunny patterns in soft colors. I am on board.

It will be just as fun to unpack everything with DN. I think we will use our social distancing time to really get started on nesting and put the house in order. In the midst of all the social media frenzy around the corona virus, the one thing that is resonating with me is: It’s a privilege to stay home! What can you accomplish while “isolated”? Can you cut down on your to-be-read pile? Cook or bake new recipes? Organize your files? Write more letters? I, for one, will be trying to make the most of this time as I am officially now in the third trimester. And I will be very  happy with the excuse to stay in stretch pants, reclined on the couch!