Sandwiches

It’s just me and Darwin, in quarantine, on the beautiful big island of Hawaii. I’ve had to quarantine several times because I was flying back and forth to California, but my husband and I had not done it together. Quarantine wasn’t much of a problem for me— the hardest part was knowing that I didn’t have a choice and had to stay home.  I don’t like my choices being taken away, but I made the best of it. I’m a writer, so quiet isolation is a welcome experience. Plus, we had a balcony with a spectacular view so I could sit out there with my coffee or sparkling water, and bang away on the keyboard of my laptop for hours and hours.  But it wasn’t quite that easy for my husband.  He does not like to stay at home. He’s always out and about, so it was tougher for him.  I remember one day things were getting a little tense between us. He was restless, I was grumpy, and we were both doing our best to navigate being in the condo together for fourteen long days.

My husband was watching the news, I was making us lunch, and it went like this…

Darwin: “Hey babe, things are getting tough out there. They just announced they’re closing the subways in New York.”

Me: “Hmmm, I mean, that’s not that big of a deal.”

Darwin: “It is a big deal. People are upset about it.”

Me: “Why do they care so much? They should be making their sandwiches at home anyway.”

Darwin: Stops looking at the television and stares at me in disbelief.

Me: “What?” Staring back. Still not getting it.

Darwin: Staring at me harder. Mortified.

Me: “WHAT?!” Oblivious.

Darwin: Still staring. Hasn’t blinked once.

Me: Finally getting it. “Ohhhh, you mean like the train and subways for transportation?”

And then we both started laughing. I think we ended up in tears, and for the record, I was totally serious with my response. Whoosh! The subway thing went right over my head. In my defense, I was hungry and thinking of food at the time, so whatever.

Listen—there we were, across the ocean from everyone we love with COVID19 spreading fast, the news was full of political wars, there were protests, hate crimes, and more pain and fear than either of us could handle but, like everyone else, we didn’t have a choice. We HAD to handle it. And then, because of something stupid I said, we both laughed until we cried.  In that moment we forgot about all the chaos in the world and were able to relax a bit and enjoy each other.

My point is this—life is hard. Especially hard lately. Amidst all the struggle and pain in this broken world, we still need to find joy and have some fun. We need to do our best to smile and bring a smile to the faces of others. Be a light whenever we can, ya know? There’s enough ugliness in this world, let’s be part of something beautiful by spreading love and kindness around until it’s gushing out of us like water from a fire hydrant. Let’s flood this world with light and grace and all things lovely, shall we?

Also, make your sandwiches at home for heaven’s sake—it’s cheaper and they’re way better.