Happy Easter. Welcome to the New Normal. Coping with Isolation: How About a Facebook Cabin Fever Party?
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What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time, I was getting ready to go to church. Today, I’m sitting here with you.
No church service this morning, no shaking hands with friends, no wearing new clothes, no getting hugs and flowers from my grandchildren. The service is online later, if I choose to watch it, but right now, I sit in my nightgown in front of the computer, looking at pictures of my grandchildren enjoying their Easter egg hunt away from me, away from others. I’ve messaged my son who couldn’t come home as planned, and now I worry about the other one in Norway, wondering when and if I’ll ever get to hug him and my granddaughter again.
According to the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, this is the new normal, until someone develops a vaccine. People isolated from one another, families separated, loved ones out of reach, economic upheaval with the fear of another depression, and constant worry about what’s going to happen next. No holidays planned, dreams of vacations put on hold, no parades, no concerts, no picnics at the beach, no dinners in restaurants, no suppers with friends, for many no job or paychecks, nothing.
But, as bad as all this sounds, I have to keep reminding myself that I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m home with my husband, and we are relatively safe and healthy for people our age with underlying medical conditions. I have asthma and severe arthritis, he has heart disease. We are in the at risk group, but doing all that we can to stay safe.
Reality slaps me in the face each time I listen to the news. At this time last year, everyone was worrying about climate change and what we could do to protect the environment. Who would’ve considered that it wouldn’t be the environmental changes we would have to fear but a tiny virus that didn’t even exist then? The number of people around the world suffering from Corona virus, COVID 19, is staggering, the number of deaths appalling. The slippery slope into depression is at my feet, but I have to keep telling myself that there is hope. People are recovering from the disease, and there is a chance they will have developed some immunity, but no one knows for sure. The answer to solving the problem and finding a vaccine may be in their blood, and hopefully it won’t take too long to find it.
It’s been a month since my efforts at social distancing started. As a writer, I’m used to spending time alone. That’s when I’m at my most creative, but strangely, now that I can’t just up and go anytime I feel like it, I want to go out more than ever. I guess that’s just my perverse nature. I sit outside in the sun when I can–the benefit of having a large yard of my own. Other times, I lose myself in the words I type on the pages, words I like to share with you.
[image error] If you are an essential worker on the front lines, then all my admiration and prayers for your safety go with you. Your commitment to helping others, putting your own lives at risks, makes you all superheroes in my book.
If you are not, it doesn’t mean you are less important. We are all essential in our own way. You too can serve by staying home! It doesn’t matter how you choose to deal with the social isolation. What matters is that you do remain isolated, saving your own life as well as the lives of others. Most governments around the world are working to provide for their citizens in this time of need, so as bad as things are, look at the bright side.
If you are working from home as I am, consider yourself lucky. You can set your own hours, play with the kids or the pets, enjoy the day in your own way. If you aren’t able to work, don’t despair. You can finally be the couch potato you’ve always longed to be. You don’t have to get up early, dress up, commute to the office and do all the things you hated about your job, all the things you wished would change. Watch television, play all those DVDs you’ve got on your shelves, do puzzles, go through all those boxes of photographs and organize them, clean and sanitize to your heart’s content–although that’s hard to do if you have kids. No one will fault you one way or the other.
I’ve decided to dress up today. It is Easter. I’ll wear makeup and do my hair and put on a dress for a change. Tomorrow I may go back to my grubbies, but that will be okay, too.
Finally, set aside time to read. You can always escape in a good book.
For the next three weeks, starting on Friday, April 17, 2020, the Author’s Billboard is offering you free box sets. Last week, we gave you All That Glitters for three days. Now, we are having a Cabin Fever party and you are all invited. https://www.facebook.com/groups/414604506092518/
Follow the link next Friday for great free books and the chance to win wonderful prizes including a $50.00 gift certificates.
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Hoping your days ahead are sunny and warm. Just remember, if we all do our part, this will pass, lives will be saved, and while it won’t be quite the same, we will find normal again!
Happy Easter!
