A Social Distancing Drive into Washington D.C.

U.S. Capitol Washington DC

Late yesterday afternoon I left Arlington for a few minutes and went for a drive into Washington D.C. I snapped a few photos, thinking that I would post them with an essay that, if it wasn’t overly long, would at least include a few profound thoughts about what these past few weeks have been like. Except now I cannot think of what to write, and I am quite sure I never will.

The fact is I have been blah. Very little of interest has happened either to me or those around me. I have stayed home for some six weeks now, save for my weekly, panic-inducing grocery shopping trip. I have had Zoom happy hours and Google hangout work meetings. I have thanked the stars above that this at least happened in the age of cell phones and AirPods, as they have allowed me to take daily, early-morning walks “with” my college roommate. I don’t know what I would have done without her. I tried and failed to order plants online from Home Depot. The few that actually arrived were almost dead, but I planted them anyway. We shall see if any make it more than a week or two. My piano lessons, once the highlight of my week, are on video now and I try to be grateful I can still have them at all, but I truly miss going to my teacher’s studio. I have baked banana bread over and over, and I have eaten pimento cheese sandwiches every day. I have spent hours staring out my window, watching birds find scraps for their nests.

Trader Joe's Foggy Bottom Washington DC
The line to enter Trader Joe’s in Foggy Bottom

And I have worried. I am hoping, hoping that this gets better and fast. But I know that we have a long way to go and the unknown of what may come scares me. So, I don’t have anything profound or uplifting to say. Except that yesterday I went for drive, and Washington DC is still beautiful.

American Flag at the Herbert Hoover U.S. Department of Commerce Building
Herbert Hoover U.S. Department of Commerce Building in the Federal Triangle
Georgetown, Washington DC
A quiet Saturday evening in Georgetown is no longer an oxymoron

One thought on “A Social Distancing Drive into Washington D.C.

  1. Not much new here either! Glad you got to take a drive downtown. Surreal to see it so empty I’m sure. Hugs.

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