The trip home was a lot surreal. We made it from Kate's house to LAX in record time; the roads were uncrowded - practically unheard of in Los Angeles. There was just one person ahead of me at the security checkpoint; I made it through in less than ten minutes, including the time it took to swig my water and rescan my bag because I forgot to empty the bottle before heading through the scanners. (oops...) The concourses were nearly deserted; I didn't even need to wait in line to get my morning latte. My flight had seven passengers on it. Seven. It made for easy traveling, but uneasy nerves. LAX is supposed to be bustling and crowded; the quiet heightened my sense of "WRONG!" Despite my anxiety, the trip home was uneventful; the nearly empty plane made it easy to practice our social distancing.
It was easy for me to find silver linings in the disruption of my vacation plans. Since Kate wasn't spending any time commuting, we had more time to just be together and talk - major bonus! I'd originally planned to while away my days in Malibu on the beach while Kate worked; instead, I spent my time helping her and Lexi transition to working and learning from home.
Fortunately for Kate's work productivity, Lexi is one self-motivated third grader. We found a learn-from-home schedule online, and tweaked it to match what they needed. The schedule worked for all of us. It had screen and non-screen learning times, creative time, move times, some time to rest, and yes, some time to just watch videos; one of Lexi's favorite ways to unwind.
I tend to be a bit introverted, so you know I've had plenty of alone time when I happily volunteer to do the grocery store runs. Kate and I tend to eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fortunately for our diets, the rest of the world does not, and since the items are not hoardable, we found a steady supply of good food despite the overall shortages.
We did have to (get to?) expand our horizons a bit, since they were out of rice, shelf-stable staple that it is. There was still some Ferro on the shelf, which we'd both heard of but never tried, so we brought some home. It was delicious, and is now on the list of my favorite grains.
And, we did manage to get to the beach for one afternoon before things were completely locked down. The morning rain had moved on, leaving sunshine, wispy clouds, and temps in the lower sixties. There were a few people there, but not many, so we walked down to one end of the beach, and I sat down to watch the waves, while Kate walked with the dog and Lexi tried her hand at clambering up rocks.
As soon as I sat down and focused my eyes on the horizon, I felt all my tension slipping away. My heartbeat and breathing slowed to come into sync with the primal rhythm and sound of the waves.
Beauty Is, they told me.
Breathe with us, you are of the water, and the water is of you.
This, too, shall pass.
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