Routine: How I Filled My First Coronavirus Journal

On March 3, the first cases of coronavirus were confirmed in my village. Out of three cases in Illinois, these were the second and third.

I selected a beautiful notebook, the 2019 XOXO edition from Field Notes, and filled it with doubts. I wanted to unload all of my thoughts as quickly as possible. I used a rollerball. My scrawl was huge. That first night I filled twelve pages. When my pen stopped, I asked myself questions in the notebook. Am I conspiracy minded? Do I have any evidence for this? Am I spelling inevitable correctly? It's a relief to get all of those thoughts down someplace. And it's useful to question myself.  I do have evidence. I'm not paranoid.

A few days pass. There are 308 cases in the U.S. Those were the days. Nine more pages in the matter of minutes. Now I'm gathering my thoughts. Cancel everything is the sensible rallying cry of a vocal minority. I hide my worries at the end of those pages.

March 13. Nine more pages. An eventful trip to the grocery store where employees congratulate us on buying normal things. The school was shut down. I explain to my son that this is history.

The entries are shorter but they come more often. 

In Japan there are reports of deerherds entering train stations and moving into cities. They're eating flowers and shrubs because tourists aren't feeding them rice cakes in the nearby parks.

My son's e-learning art lesson in its entirety: "Draw your favorite meal."

Two Navy hospital ships are dispatched to provide thousands of additional hospital rooms.

The last page on March 18. There's nothing left to talk to anyone about other than coronavirus. The boys will grow up to be germaphobes. Everyone in their generation will.

-Adam