Distancing - Day 3

I found a dead cardinal under my kitchen window this morning. His deep scarlet feathers were so bright and vibrant. It saddened me to see him just lying there.  I immediately thought of his mate. Is she missing him? Is she waiting for him to come back? I started wondering ...Does a bird  mourn when they lose a member of its group? Did you know that there’s  loads of research out there studying bird behaviors after the loss of a flockmate? Turns out that birds respond by making new flockmates and spending more time with their previous flockmates. And that is how I spent an hour this morning...reading about bird behaviors and the symbolism of dead birds. Something that I would never have taken the time to ponder if I weren’t in self-quarantine.

It’s been six days since my husband and I were possibly exposed to the COVID virus. He’s feeling fine. I’m still fighting some kind of cold or illness which seems to be getting a little worse. Headache, stuffed up, hacking cough and shortness of breath but NO fever as of today.

 I’m doing everything I can to stay above the wellness line. Getting adequate rest, taking probiotics for gut health, opening windows and getting outside for fresh air and a little vitamin D. I’ve been slathering myself in essential oils, running the diffusers, taking supplements, upping my consumption of fresh fruits and veggies and staying hydrated. I’ve been meditating, practicing yoga, doing breathing exercises and walking. I’m pretty confident that I will start feeling better soon. If not, I’ll call the doctor again to see what she says.

Here’s what day 3 looks like....

• Opened the windows and started the diffusers. Today’s blend is Thieves and Christmas Spirit.... LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
• Breakfast: cup of dairy free yogurt, raspberries, walnuts and  ground flax
• Brewed a cup of my favorite tea
  
• Took the dogs outside for some fresh air and exercise.
  
  
  
• Did one load of laundry. It’s so nice to be caught up so I only have to do one load each day.
• Sat down to do some schoolwork. My school district asked teachers to reach out to parents and check-in on the children. My colleagues and I worked on an email and generated a list of suggested activities that students can be doing while at home. The school district where I teach was ill- prepared to handle this emergency and there are many parents upset with the lack of communication between school and home. My daughter’s school, on the other hand, has been amazing! They were prepared and have communicated frequently with the families. What a difference a strong administration makes! 
• Wednesday’s daily cleaning is vacuuming the whole house. I usually vacuum our downstairs every other day & sometimes every day depending on how busy I am or how much energy I have or if it really needs it but I do a whole house vacuum on Wednesdays. This includes the basement and our stairs. It usually only takes 20 minutes to vacuum my whole house.
• I’m still working in zone 1 of my house, which is my kitchen and pantry. Today I wiped out drawers and cleaned and organized the cabinet under the sink.
• Lunch was roasted vegetables( broccoli, cauliflower, sweet peppers, onions and asparagus) sprinkled with my homemade ranch mix and we watched the rest of the documentary- Heal.
• Took a walk outside...found some signs of spring popping up.
  
• Worked on painting my daughter’s dollhouse with her.
• Dinner was just pasta with sauce, veggie meatballs and a salad.
• After dinner, our family took the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood. 
• For some creative time I worked on making some jewelry pieces. Some wrapped wire earrings, leather cuffs and a clay necklace. 
  
  And that about wraps up day 3 of distancing.