Yes, here in Spain, we are in lock down.

My family and I have been exclusively at home since last Friday. My husband has been the only one to leave at all to do his farm work.
 
Now, as of Monday, staying home is mandated by the Spanish government. We can't leave except one at a time, to work, to buy food or medicine, to go to the hospital or to care for a dependent. People can't even take walks, unless it's to walk the dog.
 
So of course, everyone without a dog is looking for one to adopt.
 
It's been surreal. As in any crisis, we have to talk about it a lot, to try and understand and make sense of all that's happening. Because it's all happened so quickly.
 
I started off last week with only one big goal in mind: to get my father to the airport in Barcelona so he could return to the U.S. We had no idea that Europe to USA travel would be restricted only two days after he left. At that moment, I simply wanted him home safely before the likelihood of contracting the virus increased.
 
That was Monday and Tuesday.
 
Hours before we headed to Barcelona, we heard that Italy had been locked down. I had a feeling Spain would only be a week behind.
 
On Wednesday, my dad got on his plane and I was deliberating whether I should still travel to London on the weekend for a business training this week.

I was nearly ready to cancel, because I didn't want to be so far from my children during such an uncertain time, when the organizer also wrote to say he'd let me postpone my attendance free of charge.
 
That settled it.
 
In retrospect it seems strange that I would have any doubt at all about going, but things were still developing. I was in that limbo phase between the old reality you're used to, and a new reality that you're having trouble grasping.

I was still afraid that by making decisive action around social distancing that others would think I was being extreme.
 
That fear dissolved soon after, when I read this, and became more and more convinced that we were actually overdue for lock down and the government should do it fast.
 
By Thursday my husband and I were canceling all non-essential obligations and getting ready to stay home.

Today we are on Day 5 of home isolation.

How have these days been?
 
I've been worried. There have been some days where I was ingesting way to much news and analysis, getting too many hits of fear from looking at my phone. There have been moments of looking too far into the future and forecasting all kinds of terrible scenarios.
 
I've also had some lovely moments with my husband and children. Moments where I am so grateful to be where I am and with who I am with.

Two toddlers guarantee that there is never a dull moment. The world is so new to them that even indoors there's always something novel and fun to play with and laugh about. Our youngest especially adds to the party, with his infectious giggle.
 
I think I'm not going to count the days of our isolation. I think they will be many, and it's probably better for me to simply accept that this is life for a while.
 
My father was one year old when he was confined with his family in a Japanese internment camp in Idaho, during World War II. They were there for a year and a half. Talk about a life disruption.
 
My son will be able to say that he was one year old when the covid-19 pandemic began.
 
History happens to everyone, and this is our moment. We've never known anything like this before.
 
Which is why I simply wanted to share a bit of my personal experience in all of this with you. Right now, something inside me is craving human stories, and reflecting on our shared experience. We're all in this life together.
 
There's comfort in that.
 

I also wanted to share a few of the resources that have been helpful to me in these days.
 
4 pieces that have shaped my thinking on the virus and our need for immediate social distancing:
 
Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now
Flatten the Curve
The Daily: Learning to Live with the Coronavirus (New York Times Podcast)
The Washington Post's "social distancing" simulator

2 pieces that have given comfort and offered ways to support my mental, inner health:
 
Self-Compassion and COVID-19 - Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer
Being Resilient During Coronavirus - Rick Hanson
 
Our three-year-old daughter is also showing signs of distress with the sudden changes in routine and our difficult-to-hide grownup concerns. She constantly asks, "What's that noise?" and won't let me out of her sight. So the other night I searched for resources for parents to talk about covid-19 with their children.
 
2 of the best parents' resources:
What can we say to children about Coronavirus (COVID-19)? - Clinic for Crisis Psychology
And this free workbook - Mindheart.co
 
So here we are.

Snug in our farmhouse in Spain, creating a new indoor life with our little ones. Yesterday we made lollipops out of Play-doh, painted with rainwater on the terrace, and did video calls with family in Oregon and Washington, and their grandparents in town, just five minutes away. Today perhaps I'll throw them a "pool party" in the bathtub.
 
As we go through our days, and as I still try to adjust to the strangeness of it all, I try to "notice that I'm alright, right now." That's the theme of a meditation in the Rick Hanson resource above.
 
For now, I bring this thought to mind often and breathe deeply, and it helps.  
 
If you'd like some extra support during these days, for you and your ongoing personal and professional projects, be in touch. My remote work goes on as ever, please let me know how I might support you during this time.