Easter in Quarantine

The Light of God as our son would say.

It's Good Friday and the world is pretty much in lockdown mode.

Peter, our daughter and I are home on St. Croix doing our things. Peter has been working from home for months now and I have been writing from home for years. Macallan is the only one of us who had jobs to go to and being in her 20's probably feels the quarantine restrictions more than any one of us. But, she is staying put, trying to keep herself busy and productive, as are we.

Peter is working full time so he's got meetings, site visits, an exorbitant amount of paperwork, reports, etc... to do.

I am home. When we have foster pups, I care for them. I hang out with Dorothy. I straighten some stuff up. I clean a little. I decorate or redecorate a bit. Dabble in drawing, painting, product design, sew some and of course read, research and write. Mostly, I am on FB or IG for inspiration. When I have phone service, which isn't often, I call my mom.

"Piglet" a foster pup is
inspiration for my blog.

For the most part, the only socializing Peter and I do is get a drink, go out to eat, most often by ourselves, although once a month or so, we might meet some friends. We routinely shop at the Women's Coalition consignment shop or the Animal Shelter store, the Flea Market for used books or some things for our home. We go grocery shopping once a week. A highlight for me has always been the La Reine Farmer's Market. I have made friends with several of the vendors and I love trying new fruit or vegetables we didn't know about until we moved to the Caribbean. I've made a hobby of learning about herbal medicines and have tried my hand at growing some for our personal use.

On the weekends, we tried to get to the beach. We'd sunbath, swim a bit, I'd scour the sand dunes for interesting artifacts, pictures and plants. Peter would bring a fishing rod and half-heartedly fly fish. But mostly, it was a chance for our dog, Dorothy and whichever other dog we may have, to run around. We tried to find beaches with no one else there. Only recently, has our go-to beach had other beach-goers, probably more on that one day two weeks ago than we've seen there the entire two-years we've been going. Still, we all practiced social distancing. It was pretty easy to do considering the shore is a half-mile long and there were all of 8 people there at one time.

I love being home, not going anywhere, not having anywhere to go. I truly do. I prefer it actually. I am happy to see family and friends several times a year; during holidays, planned get togethers, impromptu celebrations. But for the most part, leave me home, without cell service, with only internet to keep me company.

And yet, with the quarantine/stay-at-home order, I'm feeling antsy. The fact that nothing is open too makes me feel frustratingly hemmed in.

Our favorite beach, deserted as usual.

And now that the Governor has said no one can go to the beach, I want to go to the beach even more. Go to the grocery store every day. Need to shop at the pharmacy for my favorite soap, stop at the store in Christiansted for a new piece of Chaney jewelry, can't live without a new dress from Asha.

Alright, alright, I don't NEED to go to any of those places, but what I am craving is a bistec arepa from Toast, a crafted cocktail from BES, a Cesar salad from Un Amore, a flatbread pizza from TapDeck, a grilled steak from Savant, a slice of peanut butter pie from 40 Strand, a seat overlooking the ocean as the sunsets at Sandcastles!

Peter and I don't play golf or tennis, we don't go to the movies or listen to live music. We don't really snorkel or go scuba diving. We go out to eat. We go out to eat at least 3 times a week but most weeks it's more like 5. That is our entertainment, our socializing, our vice.

We might meet friends. We may take our daughter with us. But for the most part, it's just Peter and myself, conversing, sometimes arguing, but mostly enjoying each other's company. Yes, we talk to

My favorite dessert at 40 Strand

each other during the day. We are both home, he's working on his computer in the dining area, I'm usually in our bedroom or in my office. Just about ever hour, he'll break away and give me a kiss, tell me something he's working on or I'll complain about something I've read on the internet. But it's not the same as sitting at a table, sipping a few drinks, waiting for food deliciously prepared to be brought to you. No planning ahead. No chopping up ingredients. No heating the skillet, the grill, the oven. And the most important part, no cleaning up!

We're home. Nothing is open except for some places that have take away...we're going to start ordering more food for take out, but still, there's the necessary clean up. What a drag.

And as I've pointed out, we are used to being home, getting stuff done, enjoying our quarantine as we did our usual, ordinary life.

But if I have to complain, it's that I miss the going out, seeing people, commenting on what's happening around us, watching clouds roll by, having someone who knows how to make a drink make one, swallowing the expertly mixed cocktail, share the salad, sample our main course and order a decadent dessert that would take way too long to make and force me to eat the entire thing over the course of the week so that it didn't go to waste.

It's coming up on Easter. The beaches are closed. No family gatherings for the majority of the island. No church, even. Peter and I aren't religious and our families are on the mainland so we are little affected. We aren't sharing the sadness so many must feel by missing this holiday, truly the holiest of holidays for Christians. The rising of Jesus from the dead - the very definition of Christianity. It's sad.

There is a phrase that's been ringing in my head this week. I actually had to look it up to see if it was biblical. Apparently, John (John, who? I don't know. I'm not religious.) said, "For God so loved the world that he gave up his one and only son so that those who believe will not perish but have eternal life."

We will rise again, people. We'll be able to go out. Whether it's three days, three weeks, three months, we will be able to live again. It may not be exactly the same life, but the quarantine will come to an end and we'll get back out there. For all of the deaths, needless, unforeseen, untimely, deaths, this sacrifice we're making will be worth it as long as we're able to see our way out and see our way clear of this virus.

I guess I'm just ranting here, writing here, trying to make sense of the senseless. But it does seem a bit fitting to be trapped, to feel like we've lost our life, and our life as we know it during Easter.

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