six days inside.

now that i have finally ventured outside my house, ending my stuck-inside streak at six days, AND having seen how much ice has melted from my street, i feel like i can talk about this without wanting to pull my hair out. or cry (again).

six days, y'all. that is five days too long to be stuck inside your house. by yourself + two cats you are allergic to.

at first it mostly felt like, "HAHA i can't believe this is real life" and "SOUTHERN LIVING, amiright?"

and then it quickly faded into something like, "okay seriously? waiting for the ice to melt is NOT how you deal with winter, tennessee" and "getmeoutgetmeoutgetmeout if i eat one more bite of lasagna i think i will throw up."

fortunately, when my parents were in town visiting a couple weeks ago, my mom made a lasagna for the sole purpose of me freezing it to have a mom-cooked meal on hand whenever i wanted to defrost it. because of this, i didn't run out of food in the six days i couldn't leave to go to the grocery store. or anywhere.

unfortunately, that meant i ate A LOT of lasagna in the span of six days and i'll probably be okay if i never eat lasagna again in my life.

i spent my days doing what work i could from home while also occasionally going outside to clean off my car or attempt to drive or just take a walk, and my nights either reading or watching friends. i stopped wearing anything other than pjs and started taking (accidental) late afternoon naps on the couch.

the thing you need to know, though, is that the main roads were pretty clear. the temperature stayed below freezing and the road conditions weren't ideal, but you could still get out and about. the roads in my neighborhood, on the other hand, continued to wear a solid sheet of ice.

i'm pretty sure nobody believed me when i said i couldn't leave my house. in fact, my roommates thought i was being dramatic when i said i didn't feel comfortable driving to pick them up from the airport yesterday.

but then, when their lyft driver dropped them off a half mile from our house because of the road conditions and they had to walk the rest of the way home, they understood.

once they were home (finally––a day late, after having their original flight cancelled), my roommates debated whether or not they wanted to attempt a trip to the grocery store. they still didn't actually know what it was like to drive in our neighborhood, but they knew how many abandoned cars lined the streets and how far they'd just had to walk to get home. ultimately, they decided to go for it and i tagged along. because, desperation. or, in their case, because they're canadian.

what had melted during the day of rain and above-freezing temperatures was re-frozen by the time we went out and it took a certain level of skill to navigate the streets. a skill that i, apparently, do not have. my my roommate does, and for that i will forever and ever be thankful for.