By Shannon Curtin
1. Washing your hands.
2. Eating one bite of every snack in the house.
3. Counting rolls of toilet paper.
4. Crying for no reason.
5. Crying for all the reasons.
6. Rewatching Frozen 2 on a loop.
7. Opening the fridge and staring.
8. Clapping for every dog you see.
9. Standing at the door and pointing to outside, longingly.
10. Eating ice cream out of the container with a tiny spoon.
11. Getting really excited by the idea of an activity and then losing interest as soon as it’s set up.
12. Asking when you can see Grandma again.
13. Crying at Grandma on FaceTime because she’s not actually here.
13 1/2. Yelling at the person you live with because they walked in the same room as you.
14. Doing laps around the kitchen.
15. Forgetting how to do basic tasks you’ve already mastered. Like dressing yourself.
16. Really, really wanting to go someplace that’s definitely closed.
17. Napping before noon.
18. Napping after noon.
19. Refusing to brush your hair.
20. Getting really into chalk art.
21. Becoming the scene-stealing participant in someone else’s TikTok.
22. Getting super excited about going to the grocery store.
23. Crying because the grocery store is suddenly scary.
24. Washing your hands, again.
25. Screaming.
About the Author
Shannon J. Curtin is a poet and humorist from Virginia. She holds an MBA, competitive shooting records, and her liquor. She would probably like you. You can find her at @ShannonJCurtin on Twitter.