Are you feeling lonely, do you find yourself relating to nearly every meme you see on social media? You aren’t alone, no matter how alone you feel, we are all in the same boat, but it ain’t the Titanic.
There are so many things being suggested that you could be doing. Do you know that there are COVID to-do-lists? What??? Let me see if I can find an example…
Maybe its the lazy talking but, holy Hannah, it’s bad enough (or good enough in some cases) that you don’t have a manager micro-managing your every move right now, you gotta download lists? I know the stress of not working, cooped up in the house 24/7 and having to teach/educate/entertain your kids, husband or SO, now the universe is putting expectations on you beyond keeping your crap together today? I am here to say, you do you, but if a list is your thing, like my friend Joanne, then, by all means, download yourself a to-do-list. While you’re at it, can you spring clean my yard?
If you know me at all by now, troubling times lend themselves to me being a little bit serious and a little bit light-hearted. I know that these times aren’t easy and there are a lot of unanswered questions staring you in the eye. We are in this together, we will come out on the other side more connected, there isn’t another way.
We have spent a lot of time recently alone, quarantined and looking for connections with our friends and family. I don’t ever remember a time where we were seemingly grounded like we were 13 again. I joke that I am used to this as I stepped away from radio nearly 3 years ago now, but this is different.
In the days leading up to this self-distancing/isolation, I spent a lot of time at home, by myself. I used to be told to go do things, get out of the house and I just never had the desire to do much. I am not a shopper and most everyone I know still works mostly in inflexible jobs. There haven’t been a lot of opportunities to go to lunch or visit with them because they are busy, so I stay home. I guess now, it feels different, being home, because I know you are too. I would like to come over and see if you’d like to play Scrabble or Rummikub. Maybe we could fire up a fiery game of Settlers of Catan or Sequence. Of course, we can’t do any of that, you finally have the time to hang out and we aren’t allowed. This is why quarantine is so hard, at least one of the reasons.
There are a few things, that admittedly I thought were stupid at first, that have helped save my sanity during this statewide ‘grounding’. I have regular facetime conversations with my kiddos and their littles, there has been a virtual birthday party and I have a virtual social hour with 3 girlfriends in and out of Colorado. As a bonus, my girlfriends and I have started video ‘texting’ through a fun app, short little videos back and forth. None of it is the same as before and nothing will ever take the place of in-person connections, but it’s a great way to feel like less empty.
There are fewer and fewer things we can do together, I heard that we can’t even safely talk to each other 6′ apart. Some people have been getting ‘in trouble’ visiting with neighbors and doing meet-ups in parking lots where they keep their distance from each other. I know that flattening the curve and leveling this virus out is the right thing to do and that we are all worthy of living through this, so I support self-distancing. I also support alternative ways of connecting with each other. My Natasha told me that she and some friends are going to play Cards Against Humanity tonight. Apparently there is an app or something, she still hasn’t sent the link, to make it easier than expecting everyone to have a deck and not cheat. LOL!
Whatever you do today, remember that you aren’t alone and that as long as you aren’t afraid to try new things, different and sometimes out-of-the-box things like playing games with friends via Zoom or some other outlet, you’ll get through this. Tonight, crack open a cold one, uncork/unscrew a bottle of wine or grab a glass of iced tea and have some friends meet you online. The best part about meeting up on the computer, outside of staying healthy, you don’t have to get dressed from the bottom down, ha ha ha. Remember though, if you do hang out in your ‘not pants’, don’t get up in the middle of the game with the camera on to raid the fridge, they’ll see that bare(ly) clothed bottom.
