night walks

These are anxious times but my sleep pattern is the same as ever, which is a blessing. Tonight I took a walk to make up for the fact that I didn’t go for a run this morning; it rained most of the day and I used that as an excuse to loll in bed with a book for several hours. A new addition to my daily routine, night walks are soothing and a good way to get some exercise while avoiding people. A week ago I greeted anyone I happened to pass, but these days I step off the sidewalk to put six feet between us. I saw a meme on Facebook that said, “Act like you’re already infected,” and I think that’s a good approach. The news is depressing and I’m trying to limit my time on social media but for the most part, “socially distant” is how I normally live my life so I haven’t found it challenging to shelter in place. I don’t yet miss traveling and doing school visits, and am considering an offer to teach teens poetry in a four-part online class. A librarian in VA asked me to record a few chapters of DRAGONS IN A BAG for kids stuck at home, and then she made this great little video. A school in NYC has asked for a virtual visit, my keynote for an April conference has been moved online, and a couple of editors are interested in my PA novel-in-progress so I spent the weekend working on my writing sample. I’ve started a new series of quarantine poems and so I’m writing on a daily basis, which is good for my mental health. It’s hard to plan when we don’t know how long the pandemic will last, but one way I’ve learned to manage my anxiety is to follow a fear through to its worst possible conclusion. If I can’t move to Chicago, then I’ll stay in Lancaster a little while longer; if I don’t want to buy a home here, I’ll just continue to rent and save. If schools don’t reopen or request author visits, I’ll focus on finishing and selling more manuscripts. On Friday the ARCs for A PLACE INSIDE OF ME arrived; it comes out in July but it’s hard to know whether I’ll have to do a virtual launch instead of holding a party at a bookstore like I used to do. I don’t think anyone really knows what the “new normal” will be. But this pandemic has exposed the many disparities in our society. This shutdown is a chance for us to imagine new ways to strengthen ourselves and our communities. So when you’re making your new daily schedule, pencil in some time to dream…