I went back to Maryland for the weekend, to see my family. It was a short escape, but the first I’ve had since this all began. It was freeing, and disheartening. In my imagination I pictured this vast open world of normalcy outside the city. I found the vast open, but the world wasn’t any more normal. The same masks, the same awkward greetings, the same plexiglass shields at the…

Forty-seven days. Gizmo and I alone, trying to fill the emptiness of these days blending into days with constructive endeavors. There’s spurts of rallied production and droughts of motivation. But at least I always make my bed, every morning, to start whatever day I’m about to have.  Forty-seven days. No human touch. The few in-person interactions I have these days are with masks, from behind my own. It’s such a…