We are back into another phase of lockdown. As COVID-19 numbers rise, we understand, and want to be safe. Whatever we believe about this pandemic, it is hard on everyone. Beyond those affected health-wise and financially, simple luxuries are cancelled: Black Friday, Thanksgiving get-togethers, travelling to see family, dining out/shopping, even meeting a friend for coffee. At the same time, police are busting up parties being held in homes with 60 people, and dispersing $45,000 in tickets.
As this possibly drags into a second year, how do we keep our wits about us -- refrain from turning into Jack Torrance?
The weather is colder. The holidays are coming. A time for love, family, and sparkle, is also one of fear, loneliness, and worry. My kids as well I noticed, are a bit sluggish, with far too much screen time, gaming, and mind-numbing Tik Tok videos. Waking up closer and closer to the remote learning âschool bellâ, it is now that they must call upon their own self-direction. God bless them.
As people follow the law, businesses must shut down. Essential places only, are open. What is interesting is how we determine what is âessentialâ. Salon owners, independent clothing stores, skincare shops and the like, must close. Meanwhile, Walmart and Costco deemed âone-stop shoppingâ, are open. I took a walk through Walmart, to find that no sections are blocked off. So as people buy essential groceries, they can also shop for clothes, jewellery, and the like. HmmmâŚ..just doesnât seem fair.
Billions and billions of dollars have been spent managing COVID-19. With an end not quite in sight yet. We hear whispers of vaccines, but what until then?
On Monday, my husband was awoken at 1 am by a hissing sound coming from the kitchen. A pipe had burst, and one inch of water was everywhere. Everywhere. It ran down, into the basement through the floor/ceiling. Disheartened, we sopped it all up, using every towel in the house. We trudged back to bed, to deal with the rest in the morning. Just another bump.
We have recreated schedules, and have close extended family we can take walks with, and we even have our puppy, Johnny. And yes, we practice gratitude and are mindful to keep talking and thinking and practicing self-reliance, as best as we can. Today, my daughter said she missed getting ready for school, and leaving the house. In that precarious age where old norms meet independence, teenagers walk a fine line. At 17, I want her out at parties, testing boundaries (just a little), experiencing that last year of high school. I think. I donât want her in oversized hoodies, hood on, home every day. But alas, we must manage our wants, with the needs of the world. Who would have thought gamers come out of this ok, having the advantage of contact, communication, and socialization through gaming?
Where we live, people living alone, are allowed to seek out one family, to socialize with. So we do our best, to reach out. A reminder we are not alone.
How we do that, varies from home to home, from person to person. A loved one, I have heard, has put on weight in this quarantine (definitely not alone in that!), and has not gotten a haircut in months. Another, battling addiction, is essentially losing that battle. While someone else has recently entered rehab. And next week, there is an intervention underway, probably quite common right now. These are the struggles. This is the darkness of COVID-19.
At any rate, we all have to hold on to, and manage our own feelings. And fill our own cups. Not an easy thing when the world is spinning sideways. As much as I love work and am grateful to be working, some days it is very hard to leave the house. So, we do what we always do: we try. And we keep at it. We lean on each other, yet rely on ourselves, and we cherish those little things that at times we overlook. If gratitude and hope are our two best friends right now, then we will make it. Some of us feel deeply. And that, to me, is still a gift. Perhaps one that will turn that darkness, into light.
Agree with the above sentiments. 2020 has proven to be quite a struggle, but Iâm grateful that my friends and family have all be safe so far. Even though we may feel alone at times, we are not really alone. Maybe itâs a good reminder to reach out to some of those people in our lives that may not have as much support as the rest of us do. While the beginning of 2021 will still be a challenge, I am hoping that the latter half will bring a touch of normalcy. Stay positive!
Gratitude, hope and faith will get us through these tough times! Thanks for sharing the struggles that many of us are facing! It's nice to know we're all going through this together.