Blessed sunshine! It’s the first day since this lock down began that we have seen a beautiful spring day. The leaves on the trees outside my window are starting to come out. Spring is usually a wonderful time of year in Madrid. There are outdoor markets with live bands, people meeting friends for drinks on terraces of restaurants and bars, and everyone wanting to soak up the sunshine after a cold, gray winter. But not this spring. I fear we may all have to experience spring from our windows looking out at the world.
I find solace in comfort food, so last night I used the last of my stash of enchilada sauce to make beef enchiladas and shared some with my Spanish neighbor. There’s nothing like a little Tex-Mex food to make you feel better, if only for a little while.
I was supposed to have my stitches taken out of my foot today, but my surgeon emailed me to let me know that he has now tested positive for the virus. His symptoms are mild, but it means that he is now in isolation, so he has instructed me to go to the hospital where he works, instead of his private practice office) to have another surgeon take them out. Walking into a hospital in the middle of a pandemic is not my first choice of fun things to do to get out of my apartment. Lucky for me, I now have one of the good masks that I can wear. However, it’s a big hospital and he told me to go through a specific door to get where I need to be. The problem is that there is no map of this huge hospital on its own website (really people?), so I know I’ll be a bit paranoid walking slowly on crutches all over the hospital trying to find the office where I need to go.
I have had to make myself stop looking at the news online so much. The anxiety it causes makes me want to go down the rabbit hole. All of the stories are about the virus, how many people are infected and how many more have died. It reminds me of when we used to go visit my grandparents and all that they seemed to talk about were the people the knew who were dying or had died. I read one story that was quoting a medical expert who talked about what life will be like once the government decides to lift the lock down. The scary part of it was the fact that the government doesn’t appear to have any plan for when and how that will happen.
We are all waiting to hear when the curve has flattened and things start looking more positive. But to be honest, I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon.
Dispatches From Madrid 