ANNA PACHECO

HAWI RESIDENT

I will remember the onions.

Up until very recently, I was the person who went to the store for an onion. This specific item was often needed, yet never purchased in multiples. I might later realize I needed a second onion, so I returned to the store, often making multiple trips through the course of a day. Nobody could’ve known that this completely inefficient habit, would suddenly become fraught with concerns. “How essential is this shopping? How much should I buy to last me a week, two weeks, three…? Should we sanitize the groceries? Is it really safe to Lysol this?” The list of concerns rivaled the lengthening list of items needed.

Both my husband and I are decidedly “non-essential" and self-employed, therefore, home with time to spare. We immediately attacked our backyard like overzealous gophers, determined to create some sense of security amidst the great sense of uncertainty ahead.

Instead of rolling out of bed straight to work on my computer, as was my obligation prior to all of this, I now wander out every morning into the newly planted garden to poke at the dirt. Distracted and eager to get it all planted, I lost track of what went in the ground as soon as the seeds were covered in dirt, and entertainment is found in discovering what emerges victorious, having survived my care. Occasionally I find that I have been lovingly tending to a few mystery plants that turn out to be attractive weeds. I proudly announced how well our rutabagas were doing, to which my husband replied “what’s a rutabaga, do we like them?” To which, I have no idea, I’ve never eaten a rutabaga, I sure hope so.

I find it easier to focus on the small things that we can do for our future, rather than obsess over those that we can’t control. For every additional week we are sequestered at home, more seeds go into the ground, planning for our future meals and health.

Inexplicably, there’s one thing I can’t seem to grow, one thing that won’t germinate no matter how hard I try, and something I’ve managed to plant in the past without issue. Today I planted, for the fourth time, a patch of onions.