As retirement from regularly scheduled work frees one from the prison of time, watches remain in drawers, calendar pages are left unturned and rarely consulted. Eventually, new rhythms develop as one nurtures the new life. Even so, when faced with the question, “What day is it?”, there is a pause, a few moments needed to orient in time. Did I go to church yesterday or two days ago? Is the weekly lunch tomorrow or today? As part of a cognitive screen, the answer to this question is given flexibility by a day either way; people who no longer adhere to a workday/weekend schedule are allowed the luxury of time confusion.
With COVID, this confusion has become widespread as people readjust work and school schedules. Educators, parents, and students are more controlled by time as they juggle irregular work and school schedules. The days of going to work at seven and coming home at six is replaced by days filled with puzzle pieces of time. Is this Monday or Tuesday, science or math, for Susy or Johnny; wait, I am late for a Zoom meeting. No that is rescheduled for tomorrow, whatever day that is, east coast time. What day is it?!
If not for regularly scheduled Zoom for games with friends on Tuesday and Wednesday yoga, I ignore the day as I stay out of the way of family scurrying around the internet. Truly, it is more important that I know when to start cooking dinner.
It was inevitable that this theme would enter my dreams which have become more vivid and chaotic during this pandemic. Even as I dreamed it, I acknowledged that I was dreaming while recognizing that I would have this exact same experience when awake. Sure enough, as soon as I awoke and recalled the dream, I tested myself, “What day is it?”
