Quick Life Update
Greetings from Traverse City, Michigan!
If you follow me on Instagram, you may already know that I up and left DC and took the 12 hour drive to my friend’s parents’ vacation home in TC. You may remember this home back when I wrote a whole travel post about it last summer. It’s good to be back!
I had gotten a notice from my apartment building that there were a few confirmed cases of Corona virus in my building. This fact, coupled with how impossible it is for me to avoid common areas (like stairs, elevators, the lobby - I have to walk my dog and even if I order groceries, I still have to go through these common areas to pick them all up) and that too many people in my building seemed nonchalant about what was happening (one guy in my building laughed at me for wearing a mask and gloves! Literally after we all got the email of the confirmed cases. Seriously), my anxiety started to rise.
It’s not like I’m particularly scared of getting COVID-19. What I am nervous about is potentially spreading the virus to someone who may not make it. I’m scared I may be a rare case of a young person who gets too sick and has to go to the already overwhelmed hospital. One of the biggest ways my anxiety manifests itself is to make me think that the worst thing I can ever do is inconvenience other people. Making people sick or have to take care of me is a huge inconvenience, especially because it can be avoidable. But being in my apartment made me feel like it wasn’t avoidable and I was just a sitting duck.
Brian’s mom actually invited us to come up to California and stay with her and we were very much tempted by the offer. The problem was that it was impossible to transport Watson there by plane since airlines aren’t transporting animals at the moment. Th only way to get him there safely would be by driving which would take 3-4 days. Still, we were going to do it until we remembered our friend, Dave who had invited us to go to TC a few weeks ago. We asked if his offer still stood and he said yes. We made the plan and the decision to leave on a Sunday. We packed and left for Michigan on Monday. If that doesn’t sound somewhat harebrained to you, you’d be in the minority, including me!
I didn’t sleep much the day before we left because then I was filled with a different worry: I felt really guilty about leaving because what if we would be putting people in danger either there or along the way since I may potentially have been exposed to COVID-19? There’s no way of really knowing. I’m symptom-free but that doesn’t mean I don’t definitely have it - it’s like Schrodinger’s Cat and I have to assume I might have it, therefore isn’t it better to not leave? I eventually concluded that it’s better to be a moving target than a sitting duck. We drove (12 hours), made minimal stops (only 3 for gas and we filled up at the pumping station, didn't speak to anyone), spoke to 0 people on the way (seriously, I didn't even go to the bathroom!), and didn't stop until we got here. Dave and his girlfriend Andrea have joined us since.
This relocation is temporary. We are planning on heading back to DC once it’s safe to do so but we’re not anticipating that to be for at least a few more weeks, if not a month. We have LOTS of space in this four-bedroom house (we haven’t driven each other crazy like we were in our smaller apartments), lots of food (Costco deliveries are a GODSEND), and great cooks (we all love cooking and we each bring different types of cuisine to the table!). Plus, we found a closet full of board games so we’re good!
I also recognize the incredible privilege I am in to be able to even have a place to go to and even a job that continues to pay me while I made the journey here. I’m privileged that I have the ability to even order my groceries instead of having to go out to get them myself! I almost felt reluctant to even talk about going because I know so many people are getting sick, losing work, and struggling so much. Still, I wanted to be transparent about my location, not because I think I’m so important that people really care about where I go, but because of the the virus and my movements, and all of our movements matter. Plus, I’m going to have some Michigan-related content now and I’m sure that’s going to be a surprise to some.