It’s still March, barely. But I managed to start my first plantings today.
M quit his job in February when his employer decided to end the staff’s ability to work remotely. Like many Americans, his bosses were tired of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and had decided it was over, goddamn it.
Thing is, viruses don’t disappear with wishful thinking.
At the time his bosses made the return announcement, the efficacy of the booster shot we received in 2021 had already started to wane. A friend of ours had just died from likely complications of COVID-19. We knew that mask and vaccine mandates were the next to go. Which is why, after much discussion, we agreed it was just too dangerous for him to continue working with people who were recklessly throwing caution to the wind.
Sure enough, another wave of coronavirus is heading our way, this time a subvariant of omicron known as BA2. It’s 30 times more contagious than the original — and that one pretty much ruined everyone’s Christmases. BA2 is already hitting Europe and Asia and has become the dominant strain in the U.S.
At least two of my colleagues have contracted coronavirus in the past month. So has former President Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, secretary of state Antony Blinken, White House press secretary Jen Psaki and her deputy, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, “Bridgerton” actress Nicola Coughlan, “Rocketman” star Taron Egerton and actor/director Kenneth Branagh. South Korea has reported more than 9 million cases of COVID-19 during the course of the pandemic — 7.7 million of them have occurred in the past month. Today, China began its most extensive lockdown in two years to control a growing outbreak in Shanghai.
Knowing all of this, M and I continue to take all the necessary precautions. We simply cannot afford to get sick, suffer from long covid or worse.
Since the start of the year, I’ve also been beyond stressed by my own job. Adding the pandemic, the Olympics and the war in Ukraine to the grind of daily news has worn me emotionally thin. In January, I even fainted. For the second time in two years, M found me unconscious on the floor.
Thankfully, M’s unemployment has allowed us to spend more time together. When he’s not job hunting, he’s helping me to decompress, rubbing the kinks out of my shoulders/neck or just listening as I vent. His support is a major reason I haven’t imploded. It’s also why my sowings have been delayed. How could I spend hours preparing for the future when I was just trying to deal with the present?
M landed a new job last week and today was his first day working from home. While he was upstairs in his office undergoing the onboarding process, I trekked down to the basement to begin my new garden. I missed spending our morning together, of course, but it felt good to start putting seeds in soil in the hopes that flowers and herbs and vegetables will someday grow.
