Image description: A vegetable, bean soup I made. It’s in my favorite, blue bowl.
I am very committed to not getting the coronavirus (or of course, passing it on). So with the exception of a trip to the bank drive through, two walks in the neighborhood a while back, and taking out my compost, recycling, and garbage, I have stayed in my house for 33 days. I imagine you might have a streak that long also.
The truth is, I don’t want to get that sick. I have a classmate from high school who got the virus and had a high fever for 17 days straight. (She’s doing much better, thank goodness!) My body has historically not done well with high fever, so I don’t want to risk that personally. I think of people who have much bigger vulnerabilities too. This virus is difficult and unpredictable.
This is why I’ve ordered my groceries for delivery.
It’s important to note, by the way, that this is a total privilege. It reveals something about my socioeconomic status that I can work from home, at least for the time being, and that I am in a position to choose not to go out. It’s led to some disruptions, of course, like when my grocery order was canceled on Sunday (see that post) after which I struggled to find a new delivery for a while (now I have one coming next Tuesday). But many people can’t make a choice to stay in. This is privilege.
In the midst of this, however — staying in my cabin and keeping up my non-fever — I’ve noticed that I’ve come to appreciate small things much more.
When my grocery order was canceled, I was bummed, but not too concerned because I’ve been freezing soups in preparation for something like this. I’ve started pulling them out of the freezer. But last night, I decided to cook whatever I could find. I threw in all my last fresh ingredients. It was a hodgepodge of things… a little of this, this, and this. Sure, what the heck, how about this.? And hmm… what if we throw in the last bit of the queso from Chipotle..?
And you know what? I think this was the best soup I’ve ever made. It was my throw-all-the-rest-of-the-things-in-there soup, and it was literally the best. I didn’t even know I had enough ingredients for a best-ever soup. It included some of the frozen things, and they added a lot.
And eating that soup… in my cabin non-fever… it was just… glorious. I savored every bite.
This is a bizarre time, and trust me, I never thought I would be living this life chapter in this way. And in our own unique ways, we’re all experiencing the oddities and anxieties of this time. But sometimes, the small things give us delight in whole new ways.
Like a throw-it-all-together soup.
Oh, also, it snowed hard this morning. I might get to make that snowman after all!
Image Description: Snow on the branches in my backyard.
Smuggling Grace 