I've got a cupboard with cans of food,
filtered water, and pictures of you
And I'm not coming out until this is all over
- “We Will Become Silhouettes” by The Postal Service
The album Give Up (2002) by the Postal Service is about surviving the end of a relationship, but this song is a perfect fit for our collective situation — "I wanted to walk through the empty streets / And feel something constant under my feet / But all the news reports recommended that I stay indoors.” I had the ah-ha feeling a few minutes ago applying the meaning in a fresh way.
Living here in Mexico, I feel like most of the time I’m self-quarantining anyhow! I work, work here in my studio apartment, and I usually advance my projects a bit further each day, but many times it can be a struggle to feel that progress. Momentum is the key. I see this as an opportunity to focus my energies and to make the progress I want and need.
The question is how long we will be shutting ourselves indoors. I was talking with my former neighbor and friend, Mike, last night. Today’s his 86th birthday, and he has a love of words. He’d gotten interested in the etymology of the word quarantine, and when he researched it, found out that the Italian “quaranta” or “forty” in the word refers to the amount of days that a widow was allowed to stay in her house before she had to leave after her husband had died.
Could we stay in for forty days? If not, how many could we handle? How well will we stick with the strictness of the directive? In Mexico my friends are self-quarantining as a precaution, though I am not aware of any government policy. I do have a coffee date with friends in a few days, and the carpenter is coming this afternoon for a deposit, and I plan on going to stock up on groceries in the evening. Is limiting our exposure to others enough?