The night of the fire, the night they took me in, I could hear Mrs. Schatzman in her bedroom, fretting with her husband about what to do with me. "I didn't ask for this," she hissed, the words as distinct to my ears as if she'd been in the same room.
-- Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. This popular book of historical fiction goes back and forth between Depression-era Minnesota and contemporary Maine. The protagonist is an Irish immigrant who was sent as an orphan to Minnesota. Back in Maine as an elderly widow, she sorts through her attic and her past with the help of a 17-year old girl with her only family history.
I saw this book a lot when it first came out, but I didn't read it. The highlight of my first day of Oregon's Stay Home Order yesterday was finding a copy in my nearby Little Free Library when I ventured out to deposit a stack of books.
Now that the governor issued a Stay Home Order for all of Oregon, this is my new normal:
- Working from home, trying to practice law from my dining room table.
- Meeting with clients by Zoom.
- Dinosaur hands from washing them 85 times.
- Venturing out for neighborhood walks as long as we all stay six feet from each other.
- Small acts of kindness, like sharing our books through Little Free Libraries. Although I did wipe down the cover with Lysol when I got home. And washed my hands. Again.
How about you? How has COVID 19 changed your daily life?
Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from the book they are reading or featuring. Please remember to include the name of the book and the author. You can share your teaser in a comment below, or with a comment or link at the Teaser Tuesday site, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.
I loved your comment on "dinosaur hands" from washing so much. A problem for me too.
ReplyDeleteI retired a few months ago, and I was already spending most of my time at home. On Thursday, March 19th, the Calif. governor told every one to stay at home, not just seniors, except for essential trips for grocery shopping, gas, etc. My husband is now working from home, so we are on our computer's across the table from each other most of the day. Biggest change, so far, is shopping more often at various stores hoping to find toilet paper.
Hurray for Little Libraries! Sounds like a good read for staying home with. I, too, am retired, so not too much has changed. But I used to escape being home ALL the time by drinking tea and reading at a cafe or having tacos at Taco Bell. As a friend of mine put it: "Yeah, I love staying at home - until I'm told I can't go out!"
ReplyDelete