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I’m doing an isolation journal prompt series and welcome you to join! I’m only sharing responses to prompts that feel acceptable enough to share (don’t involve others for example).

Prompt

Find a good spot in front of your favorite window. What do you see? Write about the view—this can be a description of what’s unfolding right now, or you can branch off into a fictional reality. Maybe the window is open and sounds, smells, and a breeze are slipping in; maybe there are people in the street, maybe it’s empty. Either way, record the moment.

It’s as if San Diego’s Weather knows we’re all trapped inside and is itself taking a break from the usual sunny 70 degree fare. Like us, the Weather wakes up in the morning and just wants a break. It curls back up into bed enabling the rest of us to not feel as guilty for doing the same when we look out the window only to be greeted by overcast skies. I’ve lived here–on and off–for nearly 4 years. I’ve never seen so many back to back rainy days. I guess we’re all doing our part to keep us inside.

It reminds me of my grannie. She lived in a big house on farmland in South Carolina and, within a week of her dying, the house began to fall apart. I remember my mom telling me about how it was as if the house held on for her. The Weather seems to be taking a page out of that house’s book.

It’s quiet on the street and that’s oddly comforting. It’s usually like this and it makes the evening feel more normal despite nothing being normal. I never expected such an emergency like a pandemic to be so… quiet. I’m used to most extreme situations in my life being LOUD and chaotic in a way I can’t easily escape despite desperately wanting to. Instead, we’re met with quiet and calm spread throughout the outside world while our inner worlds are the only ones who seem to spin madly on for a change.

As the night fades, my reflection in the window becomes visible. I look up and I find myself staring back which very much mimics how this time feels. We’re all facing ourselves in new ways even as we look out seeking distraction.