A few days ago, it occurred to me that someday, I will actually want to look back and remember the things we did during The Great 2020 Adventure. Maybe my kids will need to write essays about this experience when they are in high school and college. Maybe I’ll write a book about this someday. Or maybe I’ll just want to remember for the sake of remembering the event that shook (and paused!) the entire world at the same time.
So yesterday, I opened a new document in Word, named it My Covid-19 Captain’s Log, and started writing. I have only been keeping this log for two days, but so far, this is what I’m writing about:
- The weather! Seems so trivial, but hey, it can really affect our mental health.
- A paragraph about what Pippa did
- A paragraph about what Julian did
- A couple sentences about Nathan (He’s not as interesting at the kids)
- A paragraph about the highlights of my day
And that’s it! It’s simple and quick. I am also going to use my emails to construct a timeline, e.g. when our schools closed, when we were under orders to shelter at home, and when we had to start wearing face masks to essential business.
I am not locked into this format. Yesterday, I ordered stamps online because we have been sending so many letters. I wrote about that. In regular life, the purchase of stamps does not seem like a big deal; but right now, for me, it does. Today, I wrote a few sentences about our breakfast because we have been eating banana pancakes 4-5 each week – it’s like our Covid-19 breakfast mascot!
But in ten years, will I remember that we ate banana pancakes almost every day during quarantine? My brain is pretty overloaded these days because everything is so weird and new, not to mention the global collective anxiety. With all the days bleeding into each other, how many actual memories will my brain be able to collect? And honestly, what the hell did I have for breakfast 10 years ago? Shit, I don’t know! If I can’t remember what was happening in 2010, a year that was very ordinary for me, how will I remember these details for 2020 in 2030? (Ah! Too many numbers! My brain is shuddering!)
With the Captain’s Log, my brain will not have to remember the details. One day, when my kids have questions about life during quarantine, I’ll just print up the document and let them read my memories. Hey, this might be a habit that I continue after quarantine lifts.
p.s. I do journal every day, but journaling is very freestyle for me. Sometimes I write about things that happened, but usually, I write more about feelings and issues that I’m working on. I’ll be keeping my journals as well! But those are not for public consumption, thank you very much.