New Times Call For New Friends

Note: This is NOT a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

The view from my desk at home has changed. In addition to piles of papers filled with rosters of my 23 students and their various academic data results, there is now a full sized aquarium resting on the upper deck of my desk. A bright pink index card taped to one side wishes Roblox and Little Cookie a happy Valentine’s day; 17 mini-handmade Valentine’s cards decorate the frame of the enclosure. My new guests are cockroaches. From Madagascar. Yes, that makes a big difference. If you have bad memories of cockroaches from your past, you may be pleased to learn that not all cockroaches are created equal. This type does not scurry when the light comes on, they seem more interested in sleeping than eating, and if I’m being honest- there’s something very beautiful about their shiny earthy toned exoskeletons. Since my school closed six days ago, my six-legged little friends have needed to shelter in place along with me. It’s about all the company I can handle. My niece Hailey inspired me to create a schedule for myself to structure my time. Of the 9 items on the list, I managed to complete 2 of them. Was I being too ambitious? Now wait- I put down ‘~1 hour Spanish Lessons’- the Berkeley Library offers free language lessons via Mango- and I had planned to continue doing some lessons there. But I got caught up in composing an email to my class’ families- soliciting photos of their children (my students) for me to post on my class blog to help us all feel connected during this extremely isolating period in history. I always translate communications into Spanish since I have a large non-English speaking population in my class. Does this count as my Spanish learning time? Yes it does! Woo hoo! Now I have an extra 40 minutes to eat. The thing about a shelter in place- well, the refrigerator keeps calling you to explore. Every 15 minutes it feels like it’s time for a new nosh. I am really thankful I am able physically to run regularly, as I’d surely be unable to wear anything in my current wardrobe. And then the song ‘Brick House’ by the Commodores popped into my head, and it was time for a dance party for 1- the introverts version of a flash mob- I blasted the music and danced like only a middle-aged white woman who’s been sheltered in place for a week can, and I felt the beginnings of a new tradition coming to life. I may even host a Zoom meeting to invite fellow dancers to join in. The roaches continued to hunker down throughout the excitement. As much as I love them (and what’s not to love about these low maintenance hissers?) I think I need to widen my social circle. There’s a difference between social distancing and social anorexia. I put on my wool coat, and headed out for my third walk of the day. I needed to breathe some fresh air and get my human being fix in. Even from a six foot distance, it’s comforting to see others working through the same set of unnatural circumstances.