Quarantine: The Awakening

After a full week of isolation, I couldn’t take the endless sanitizing. I’m tired of following my husband around with Lysol, as if he was Typhoid Manny.

Living this way makes no sense.

We are all stuck in bedrooms, sharing a kitchen. I talk to my husband, who is staying in the next room, via text only. He comes home and throws his uniform into the wash immediately, washes his hair… then closes the door behind him to protect us from any airborne pathogens.

Once he goes to work, I have to scrub the entire house before allowing my mother to leave her bedroom. She can’t even get a glass of water without a mask and gloves, in her own home.

So, I pulled the trigger.

I did it.

I put a notice on Facebook that I was looking for a room for my husband to move into. A few people tried to take advantage of the situation by charging what they normally charge during high season Spring Break in Florida. A few friends ignored my desperate pleas, even though I know they could have helped.

But, one kind soul, sent me a message saying… “With all the cancellations, my condo would be empty anyway. Your husband can have it as long as he pays the maintenance for the month. I’m hoping someone up north is taking care of my parents, and this is my gesture to hope for good karma.”

Faith in humanity restored.

Manny moves out on Thursday, for one month, maybe two… maybe more.

None of us know, really…

All I know, is that I am looking forward to some sleep. A deep sleep where I can finally relax, and know that I am doing all I can to protect my mother from this horrible virus. I am looking forward to my home being a safe haven, and not the war-zone we have been living through.

I will miss my husband, and of course, I will worry that he is out there going through this alone. These workers who are bravely facing this pandemic, truly deserve the recognition, and pay-raise, for putting themselves in harms way for others.

I am so proud of him.

Trust me, I begged him to quit for the sake of our family. I begged him to use up his sick days; his vacation days… all of it, to stay home with me.

He refused.

It has always been his nature to be the problem solver; the calm voice in any storm. He is Sikh; they are warriors, and humanitarians. He may not be religious any longer, but his soul was born to help.

All I know is that he is MY hero, for sure.

I love you babe. Be safe out there.