Much like the rest of the world, Jeff and I watched Hamilton last weekend. Full disclosure: I was not already a huge fan like most people were and to be honest, Jeff wanted to watch it more than I did. I was not against it, per say, nor did I dislike it, I just wasn't interested in it. I knew it was hugely popular and even though I didn't know a ton about it (other than you know... Alexander Hamilton), I have always thought Lin-Manuel Miranda to be positively delightful. That, combined with my love for musicals, encouraged me to watch it. Well, guess what? I LOVED IT. Especially Phillipa Soo. I think I'm pretty much in love with her at this point and "Helpless" is running through my head 24/7. It's a 3 hour production that did not feel like 3 hours by any means. The acting is phenomenal and the singing is extraordinary. The writing is outstanding and that pretty much sums it up. Watch it if you enjoy listening to absurdly talented people sing/rap/act, or if you just really love musicals. It is truly exquisite and if you're at all like me, you will then listen to the soundtrack on repeat and take all the Buzzfeed quizzes about which character you are because they pop up on our Facebook feed out of nowhere (creepy).
 |
| This is me sweating while in my happy place, listening to Hamilton and wearing a Harry Potter shirt |
I'm Eliza by the way.
You're damn right I am.
Over quarantine I read 4 books:
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, who is also responsible for one of my all time most favorite books in the whole universe, The Night Circus. It was good and if you enjoy a deep, descriptive magical journey, you will enjoy both of those books.
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald, which was a cute little book about starting a new life and breaking out of your comfort zone.
The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson. This one was an excellent twisty story about family and books and scavenger hunts and I read it in a day. I loved it.
And last but most certainly not least, I read Little Women by Louis May Alcott. Boy oh boy, I adored this book. It just made me happy and made me want to hang out with the March sisters and "their boy," Teddy. I couldn't stop thinking about it after I finished it. I watched the movie from 2019, starring Jeff's number one crush, Saoirse Ronan (pronounced "sertia" like "inertia" !) and enjoyed it quite a lot and did my damndest not to get upset that they changed lots of things and left out some fun things.
Quarantine made me excited about gardening and growing herbs and vegetables and watching birds eat from our bird feeders. There is something so satisfying about planting this tiny thing and watching it grow and grow and grow. I'm about to have a TON of tomatoes, you guys! and zucchini! It's very exciting. We also had hummingbirds visit our feeder for the very first time this week.
Quarantine gave us the time we needed to get all of our books in order and it is absolutely glorious and everything I have ever wanted.
What can I say? I already loved my home, but covid has made me truly enjoy every aspect of it.
A silver lining in an otherwise traumatic time, I suppose.
Speaking of covid, let me get some things off my chest...
We are in the middle? The thick of? The midst? of a pandemic. A PANDEMIC.
Pandemic: (of a disease) Prevalent over a whole country or world. A WHOLE COUNTRY OR WORLD.
This is not something that is happening to only one person or thing. This is literally taking over the world. But even so, even if it was just happening to one person, wouldn't it STILL be awful? Wouldn't you want to reach out and do everything you could to help that one person? What if that one person was you? Or your mom or dad? Your grandmother? Your best friend? A friend of a friend of a friend? Wouldn't you, as a decent and respectable human being, WANT to protect that person? Isn't empathy embedded somewhere in all of our human psyches?
There is the most simple of solutions to slowing down the spread of this virus. Literally, SO SIMPLE.
Shut up, Sarah! I am so sick of hearing about this.
I will not.
I will not shut up about it because all of our lives are at risk. Mine. Yours. Your family and friends. Wear a damn mask. It is SO SIMPLE. It is not taking away your rights. It is not taking away your freedom. It is quite simply, a respectable thing to do. Like wearing shoes inside of a store so that your gross and stinky feet don't get the floors dirty, you need to wear a mask so that your breath and particles and GERMS don't KILL other people.
Why is that a bad thing? Why are we arguing about it? Your mask will protect my mother who is a cancer survivor. Your mask will protect my 95 year old grandfather (his birthday is tomorrow! Happy birthday, grandpa!)
Why does that make you angry? Why does protecting others make someone so angry?
It's about treating others with respect. I respect you, so I will do my best to protect you.
And listen. Fine. If being selfish is your thing, then cool. Don't wear a mask, but you are NOT allowed to go into a place of business that requires one (it's the law now, by the way. Go Whitmer!) and be rude to their staff. Or roll your eyes. Or heave a big sigh. And if you have done this, how dare you. Shame on you. We are all trying to do our jobs. We are doing our best to scrape out of this damn thing alive and to have a select few undo everything we have worked for is so goddamn discouraging and HEARTBREAKING. This thing is real. You want your lives back? You want to go to the gym? Or the movies? The solution is so simple...
Wear an f'ing mask.
See? This is why I started with happy things. I am exhausted and cannot believe that it is almost mid July and we are still arguing about this.
It all comes down to kindness. JUST BE NICE. I do not enjoy wearing a mask anymore than you do, but you know what? They are here to stay. They are going nowhere anytime soon. So, make it fun. Buy a cute one, buy a cool one, buy a funny one. Just like shoes, they are part of your wardrobe now, friends.
I bought this one for my sister and I.
I am probably going to get this one too
Make it your own. Make it work. Make it SAFE
One more thing about pandemic etiquette... Don't go door to door. I don't want to deal with door to door sales people in regular times. I most certainly do not want to deal with door to door people in the middle of a pandemic. It's a terrible idea. Don't do that. Just don't do it.
I will bookend this post with a few happy things, okay?
 |
| The O'Scottahan Library |
Show me your masks. Is it homemade? Is it fun? Is it a medical one? I want to see what they look like.
Here is Bryn showing how her favorite toy monkey is wearing her mask:
