I am regretting my lack of Cadbury Mini Eggs. Cookie rations are also dangerously low. I am trying to focus on good news: today is 14 days after we were exposed to Coronavirus, and we haven’t shown symptoms. So, I am breathing a teeny tiny little sigh of relief, even as the numbers of sick people climb. I keep thinking about the person who was sick in Dot’s dermatologist’s office. How are they doing, 14 days later?

Today, we went outside for the first time since Sunday. I realized that I’ve been subconciously dressing Dot in the sweaters my grandma knit me when I was a child. It feels like a little extra protection being able to wrap her up in something her great-grandma made. Maybe she’s watching over us.

Dot was like a little rocket unleashed. She just ran around in circles yelling “outside! Oh yeah, we’re playing! Outside!” This girl is a world-class connoisseur of puddles, and she somehow found the only one within miles. She jumped and splashed, and her hair flew up, and the water flew up, and I think it did us both good. Then she squish-squashed in her wet running shoes all the way back to the car. 

Every evening at dinner, I ask her what the best part of her day was. Today, she said, “Go outside. Jump in muddy puddles.” I can’t wait until my girl can get muddy to her heart’s content, and we can spend all day outside wandering around like we used to. 

Three vertical images of a toddler in a blue sweater jumping in a mud puddle.