Like so many, I’ve been sheltering in place this spring due to coronavirus. In my case this began partially on March 16, 2020, the first day that my son’s public school became fully online.
The boom lowered fully the following Monday, March 22, when my husband brought his entire business home (after the stay-at-home order went into effect for the entire state of New Jersey).
The following week my husband took over my home office (a fair trade, since his is the full-time business). My son does his remote schoolwork in the den, and I’ve set up shop on the kitchen table … though my part-time editing, proofreading, and writing business has become part-time in the extreme. My focus is all over the place, and definitely not on my professional trade; no, it’s work of another sort that is all-consuming.
The diner is open 24/7, and I’m the head chef (with occasional significant assists from my seventh grader). Laundry, housecleaning, and grocery processing – thanks Instacart shoppers, I’m upping your tip as we speak – fill my days … as does a LOT more time spent in the afternoons with my son once his schoolwork is done.
On the Monday marking the seventh week of this COVID-19 stay-at-home saga – which I gladly do, to keep others safe – I decided to write … and edit / proofread that prose, of course … about our activities.
These blog posts will be different from my previous ones, by necessity and design. The topics will touch on both the business and the personal.
The Bulbs: Tulips and Narcissus
To that end, I will briefly share today the results of an impromptu and very, very late bulb planting effort. Background: last December I got two free bags of bulbs from the local farmers market as they were trying to clean out leftover stock before winter hiatus. I promptly put the bags in the garage and forgot about them.
Flash forward to April. During Spring Break my son had even more downtime, and like so many parents I was looking for activities (other than the Xbox) for my son. I remembered those bags, and went to inspect them. Each contained 10 bulbs: one bag of tulips and one of Narcissus. Some were already sprouting (in my garage!) and only one seemed completely dry and desiccated.
On two separate days during the week of April 6 we planted the bulbs. Because my previous attempt at bulb-planting ended up a feast for our friendly neighborhood squirrels, we planted the bulbs nine to 12 inches deep. Our plant markers consisted of colorful stirrers, plastic knives, and a red plastic spoon that was for I-can’t-remember-what.
I am happy to report that, after three weeks, five of the tulips and one of the narcissus are sprouting!
I am way more excited about this than my son. (His reaction? “That’s nice.”) I’ll report back with more pictures in the coming weeks.
I’d love to hear what stay-at-home endeavors you are growing. Please share in the comments!
Pamela Barroway 
Wow!! RIP to all the bulbs I let moulder in the garage because I thought it was too late to plant!!!
How cool!
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No one is more surprised than I! Maybe because the temperatures were so cool in the latter half of April, this simulated the winter months? Who knows. But, it’ll be great once the tulips and Narcissus bloom.
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