It's Like Dead Squirrels

Aden's face drained of color as she told me about the dead squirrel in our front yard. As a responsible adult and parent, I turned to Rob and asked, "Wanna take care of this one, honey?"  Rob excused himself with a gesture to his headset and mouthed words that have become a refrain around here, "I'm on a call." As soon as I armored up with gloves and a shovel, though, he came out to help hold the trash bag and deposit the petrified grey body of the squirrel therein. We carefully positioned the bag on the shady side of the house to await trash pickup next Tuesday.

Later in the day I labored over a spreadsheet of my recent writing samples. I'm attempting to compile my business writing portfolio in order to pitch for more work. As an introvert and linear thinker, marketing (especially for myself) is an uncomfortable and frustrating area. After searching fruitlessly for a grant proposal that resides somewhere on my hard drive, I told Rob that building my portfolio was "like dead squirrels. I just don't want to do it."

During this strange and often difficult time we have done many things we didn't want to do. My mom didn't want to fly home last weekend, though she desperately wanted to be home to check on the house she shared with my dad and to follow up on possibly changing funeral arrangements.  To fly from Oakland to Spokane, she donned hat, mask, head-to-toe black jacket and pants, and a baseball cap. My brother, Michael, wished her a safe flight and asked her to let us know when her next rap album would drop.

Mom made it safely home with the help of her siblings, and now we all wait with bated breath as the dates click forward, hoping that no symptoms of COVID-19 emerge. She's five days out today, and symptom-free, so far so good. The kids, meanwhile, are healthy but bored, relieved of online school duties but wondering whether their summer jobs at local pools will materialize. Aden grew tired of the uncertainty and joined Instacart as a shopper - she did her first shopping run yesterday despite hesitancies about grocery stores and sudden new jobs.

Wishing everyone luck with their dead squirrels today. Stay safe and well.
xoxo
Laura