The CoronaRoutine

No visits with friends.  No special events.  No nights out.  Working from home.  This is the situation I currently find myself in, and I'm sure plenty of others are (or have been) there as well, as the coronavirus throws our world into turmoil while bringing our lives into stasis.  

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has responded to these bizarre circumstances by developing a strict daily routine.  I wake up.  I work.  I eat.  I write.  I eat.  I read.  And I sleep.  Every single day has been essentially the same for nearly four months now.  

And as much as I miss the variances of normal life, I've found that my routine has become more solid with every passing week, and my mind has become increasingly rigid in opposing any deviation.  

You would think I'd be eager for any disruption to the same old-same old, but I find it's much the opposite.  An unexpected request from my fiancee that I go to the grocery store sends me into a mini bout of despair. Go to the grocery store, now?  But how could I do such a thing, when I must work 'til 12:30, exercise and shower 'til 1:00, eat my lunch 'til 2:00, and write from 2:00 to 5:00?  And when I do ultimately go, I spend the rest of the day feeling out of sorts, and sometimes abandon the idea of writing altogether since the day is already as good as "lost," even though my outing took all of thirty minutes.  

Another observation: seemingly insignificant tasks have taken on a great importance because they require a slight adjustment to my routine.  I plan days in advance the cutting of my fingernails.  

This is my second day in a row writing this blog.  It was only with a tremendous thrust of will that I found room for it in my schedule.  

And now it's 3:28, and my allotted time is just about up!