While the life was still breathing after being covered by norms of social distancing, it was such a daunting task to re-route every activity as per pandemic’s need.
As a family we never thought that going out for grocery could become such a challenging task. But now, when grocery has to be bought, we start preparing prior a day of our final purchase like we all are here with a mission to survive next few weeks without any delay in our food supply. Like, they show in movies, family surviving together as the world is ending and all. I looked at those films and couldn’t found anything more stupid enough. Nonetheless, now I find myself stupid more than ever I can become.
So, we were at grocery. While the shopping spree is decided very exclusively, every item is being discussed again and again to ensure that it falls under essential items list and clause. If you are asking a stuff just for pure fun, please be prepared for wrath of every family member. It seems like items would be having fun for sure. They wouldn’t have received this level of importance in their lives. And now, even a toilet paper roll, would be screaming out of happiness saying – “Hey baby, I am fully sold. I am in demand like hell could never command”. While the list is prepared after heart-full discussion and an aggressive sales pitch of each and every person, right there at the corner I could see smiles fading and worries staring at us through their glasses of mystery.
Don’t assume the family drama ends here. Now, the real step takes its pace. Each person would be given a task to perform throughout the activity of grocery being purchased. While one person has gone covered in mask and anti-viral spray to collect the essential items which no longer might be there on display, another person right at the gate of home would be waiting for him to arrive. Well, nobody wants to sanitize the gate again and again. So, yes, somebody is there every-time, waiting for the arrival of the one who has ventured outside, as we call him, an outsider who managed to survive. Now, the journey of food starts from one end of the car to another end of the door. Off course, the one who brought the supplies, will carry this task with his own hands. No one will share the burden for sure. It’s not like we don’t care. It’s like that we care too much. Once, the food is handed over to an insider, the outsider will ran towards the washroom to clean and sanitize himself like a crazy madman who has decided to chase an unending spree of emotions. The journey of insider, starts now. This person will take the food supplies to the kitchen. Hey, hey, wait. But before that, someone else will intervene. The Sanitizer. This part is generally played by me in my family. I was earlier recognized as a cleanliness freak, but now I have gained a positive reputation. I am the one who sanitize. So, I will come with big collection of soaps, rinse mechanisms, variety of sanitizers like I am there to open my own shop. And, I will clean the stuff, rinse it, find innovative ways to ensure that virus wouldn’t land inside our doors. Finally, I will pass it over to the insider who will take it to the kitchen’s floor.
And that’s how it’s done. Well, let’s not forget this is not the end of the drama. Now, the real fun begin. I, as a sanitizer, have developed an insane habit of recollecting all the events. Was that door touched by an outsider, was that window clean enough, was that entry point safe enough, was that floor need to be rinsed again or were I successful enough to wipe out the virus every-time I play the game of a sanitizer. This insane re-collection of memories and events is being discussed time to time with every family person. The purpose of doing this activity is nothing but just to pass on worries from one to more, so that it get distributed and do not fall as a huge burden on my poor tiny soul.
While, thinking and rethinking all of this, I looked at the key-holder of my home. There wasn’t a single key there. It was all filled with face masks which we so frequently use, even while cleaning our backyard and front lawn. Then words just floated like a stream in my head and I wrote:-
Weird days of our lives..
In place of keys for outdoor activities
Right there on a key-holder at my home
I could see many more face masks instead of a real key
Shortreads 