The Corona Chronicles

So, I Shacked up With My Boyfriend for the Coronapocalypse…

Five days into quarantine, we’re staying sane and counting our blessings

—Ena here. Reporting from quarantine.

Jeez, those are words I never thought I’d say.

But, alas, here we are, shacked up in the apartment of my boyfriend, Jay. It’s him, my almost-five-year-old daughter, Ella, and myself.

To stay, or not to stay…

The three of us never lived all together, until last week. But, last Monday, as the city of Berlin began to shut down, and isolation, as well as potentially strict curfews, became imminent, we made the bold decision to temporarily move in, under one roof.

On the last day before schools closed, for at least a month and maybe longer, I seriously considered my mother’s offer to fly us back to Oslo to stay with her: The extra help with Ella and mom’s home-cooking sounded awfully tempting, yet, the thought of flying during this time, as well as leaving Jay behind indefinitely, deterred me.

When he offered to take us both in at his place, it didn’t take long until I settled on staying put (supported by the Twitter hivemind).

Here we are!

So far, so good: We’re all healthy and have plenty of food. In addition, there are at least fifteen chocolates, ten bottles of wine, a box full of cheese—and, enough—still, not excessive amounts of—toilet paper.

More than my health, I’m slightly more worried about my mental state, as well as my writing-focus which keeps getting quashed by the near-constant repetition of ‘Maaaaammmmmaaa!!!’.

It’s been less than a week since my daughter’s kindergarten closed and my respect for her teachers (and all good child educators and caretakers) keeps growing by the minute.

It’s been a wild few weeks, and while we’re still getting used to these new circumstances and processing how fast reality just got flipped on its head, we’re doing pretty good, and I certainly can’t complain.

We’re counting our blessings.

Now is the time to focus on the little things and realize just how much we have to be grateful for:

Outside, the sun is shining and spring is here; we have plenty of green spaces and fresh air, strong legs and running shoes, scooters, and bicycles for all of us.

We have warm beds and enough to drink and eat—and, dare I say, I have some decent cooking skills to boot. We have entertainment in the form of books, toys, card- and board games, fast wifi, laptops, iPads, and a Netflix subscription.

When kiddo’s in bed, we have a bathtub and massage oils, boxes full of adult toys, shibari ropes, ceiling suspension points, analog cameras, and an ad-hoc dark room.

Let’s say we have enough stuff to keep us busy.

And, most importantly, we have each other!

So, what now?

Who knows? But, let’s find out!

Almost a week into self-quarantine, and our little social experiment, I’m tentatively optimistic and curious to see what the next few weeks will bring—within our four walls—and beyond.

I’ll continue to share—hopefully, every day from now—in the form of updates, poems, ponderings, short articles, and other literary pieces.

In the meantime, please stay at home, and keep safe, sane and healthy!

Currently shacked up with her (soon) five-year-old daughter, Ella, and her boyfriend of ten months, Jay, Ena Dahl reports regularly from their day-to-day lives in self-quarantine on the South East side of Berlin.

The Corona Chronicles will feature a collection of updates, poems, ponderings, short articles, and other literary pieces from these times while all three of them share a home for the first time.