How Are You Passing the Time at Home Right Now?
Staying calm hasn’t been easy lately. With the evolving cycle of coronavirus news, many of us are oscillating between serious worry and outright panic. We’re concerned about our loved ones, our neighbors, our community — and wonder if our old way of life will ever return. Phrases that had never entered our minds a few weeks ago — shelter in place, social distancing — are now repeated like daily mantras.
Some of us feel a pang of guilt for having taken for granted the important people that keep our communities humming — the teachers, the day care providers, the health care workers, the first responders, the grocery store cashiers, the food service workers — and vow to never miss a chance to show appreciation for these people when things return to some semblance of normalcy.
Some of us feel a pang of guilt for having taken for granted the important people that keep our communities humming — the teachers, the day care providers, the health care workers, the first responders, the grocery store cashiers, the food service workers — and vow to never miss a chance to show appreciation for these people when things return to some semblance of normalcy.
I’m grateful for the privilege of being able to work from home during this time, and I’ve been reading some great tips on working from home. I’m also doing lots of cleaning to ensure my home is virus-free, and trying to balance the doomsday news with uplifting stories worth smiling over. Italians singing opera from balconies. Those penguins waddling through a Chicago aquarium. Incredible acts of online charity.
And while Zoom and FaceTime have become vital portals for work meetings and check-ins with family members, I’ve also heard about people hosting virtual cocktail hours and dinner parties with friends online. Anything to stay sane, to feel normal, to remain hopeful.
And while Zoom and FaceTime have become vital portals for work meetings and check-ins with family members, I’ve also heard about people hosting virtual cocktail hours and dinner parties with friends online. Anything to stay sane, to feel normal, to remain hopeful.
Let’s keep that sense of community going and share other helpful ways to pass the time at home. What are you doing to manage stress, stay active, keep in touch with friends and family or just make it through the day? What has brought you joy, even if brief and fleeting, during this time? What are you grateful for?
My son taught me how to play the Fortnite video game, something I never thought I would have an interest in learning, and we’ve had some wonderful times playing together online with his friends and mine. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched Frozen 2 with my daughter. I got my finger calluses back from playing guitar again, and have even dusted off that novel I started all those years ago. (Hey, if Shakespeare could write Macbeth and King Lear under quarantine, I can pretend to work on a novel.) And I’ve come to relish my now nightly phone calls with my mother to share recipes and hear which stores in her area are still out of toilet paper.