Canadian Quarantine
During a cold, gray December, in the middle of a pandemic, being legally confined to a vacant home for two weeks was a complicated experience. Coming from Texas, land of no second lockdown no matter how bad things get, the regular government calls and email check-ins were jarring. Not that my wife and I had utilized our freedom in Houston, aside from picking up the occasional take-out meal, making a quick trip to the pharmacy or going on a masked morning walk. But somehow, choosing to isolate cast less of a mental shadow than the forced confinement we were now under. Nine months into the coronavirus pandemic, things are different, even if they’re largely the same. The fear and existential dread that accompanied April’s information vacuum have been replaced by a ground-down spirit paired with near-constant boredom, and the occasional deep pit of depression. Quick lunches have been replaced by somewhat elaborate dinners to make our current forced confinement as enjoyable as possible. Plus, my hair is now almost long enough for a full ponytail. Tomorrow is our monthly Coronaversary, which marks the first day we decided to enter lockdown in Houston this past March. It’s also our first day of freedom where we leave the house to see our parents for the holidays. And we’re still here, moving forward, even though sometimes it doesn’t really feel like it. — Brent Reaney, Belleville, Ontario, Canada, December 2020