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And so the PA exile begins! I said in my last post, I was waiting out my own two week quarantine before heading out to spend the coronavirus with my mom in Pennsylvania. I'm struck by the fact that it's only been about 48 hours since I've been here and my mood has already lifted immensely. As much as I'm an extroverted introvert, those two weeks living alone were eye-opening; I think my sigh of relief as I sat down in my mom's living room could be felt across the country, if such a thing were measurable.

It really is true what many medical talking heads having been saying - check in on your neighbors and friends. It's never been more clear to me how much you can rely on human contact in your everyday life until it's taken away from you. I've never really considered myself to be someone who struggles with huge amounts of anxiety, but I think it's times like these that make you realize how essential it is to have a support system. I have never once considered myself to be alone because I always had my family or friends to lean back on - but there are a lot of people out there now who may be realizing that they don't have the same.

Since my mom moved out of our family home three years ago, she's been honest about trying to make her new home in Pennsylvania become a new space where both my sister and I feel comfortable. I think the nicest thing she's said to me since I got here was that she's just happy I feel like I could come here during a high period of stress and feel welcome. Maybe that's what is sticking with me - that there may be people out there during this time who don't have a place or a person they can turn to that gives them the feeling of home. I can't imagine living through a global pandemic without that - I was even thinking that I'm lucky to have another place outside my own home that makes me feel not so alone.