Category: COVID-19
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COVID-19 Diaries: Doom
My right eye twitches. I press my finger on the jumping nerve to still it. Tears poke behind my eyelids. My eyes burn. I am feeling feverish from a lack of sleep and running on adrenaline for two weeks now. My phone lights up with a notification. An extended family member reaches out hearing of…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Direct Hit
Over the weeks, I have mused countless times about how much the pandemic occupies my thoughts. I have imagined in vivid detail what the virus does and can do to our bodies. I have feared that someone dear to me might be affected. Amma spiked a fever ten days ago. A mild fever she said.…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Jugaad
I am in the bedroom browsing through my phone when I hear Laddu’s voice. “Mommy, my glasses broke.” It takes a minute to register. “What do you mean broke? Broke?” The questions swirled. How? When? Who? In the end, I inspected the glasses, pronounced it dead. The lack of emotion, the lack of panic. The…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Good Days. Bad Days.
Yesterday was a bad day. It also was a good day. I started the day with excitement. I woke up brimming with ideas for book promotion. My brain was on overdrive, making lists, thinking of ways to promote the book. I logged into work and diligently prepared for a presentation in the afternoon. I had…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Wear Those Dresses
I am speaking on a work call, my palms animated as I to explain my position when I spy Laddu outside my study door. Beyond the mullioned door, she mimes something my preoccupied brain fails to comprehend. I shoo her away and adjust focus back to the matter on hand. The call ends and Laddu…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Openness When Confronting Mortality
My watch buzzes and a familiar name pops up. My smile is huge, stretching from ear to ear. I reach for my phone and open the Messages app. It from Gigi, my daughters’ great grandmother of sorts. This time, the picture is of my newborn twins. A week ago, she sent me a picture of…
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COVID-19 Diaries: The Little Things
With this week, we have all been home for over four weeks with the rare exception of the weekly grocery runs by the husband. Some days, the kids and I step out for some sun keeping to the small grassy oval in front of our home. On adventurous days, I even walk the full loop,…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Decluttering
I took Friday and today off ostensibly to figure out a schooling plan for the children. My intentions were in the right place. Birthday plans consumed Friday. The weekend was grunt work: grinding batter, laundry, groceries, and just everyday things. Today, however, I decided to tackle the girl’s bedrooms. Growing up, I was the child…
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COVID-19 Diaries: I Am The Lottery
I see my reflection on the dirty powder room mirror and pause, really pause. The face staring back at me is beautiful. Perhaps it is the lighting or the two years of sticking to a walking routine or just the effect of being indoors all the time for over a month. I like what I…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Missed Milestones
“Can you bake me a chocolate cake?” My littlest one asks, her round eyes wide with anticipation. I add ingredients to my virtual cart and cross my fingers and pray. “How many days to my birthday?” “Can I wear a dress for my birthday?” “Can you get me an Elsa bike?” “Can you get me…