coronavirus – Mad Girl Writing

I’ve lost track of how many days we’ve been socially distancing but being home 24/7 is finally starting to get to me. Maybe it took me a little longer to feel antsy because though I’m not typically a home-body, I do enjoy a healthy amount of social distancing as an introvert. But even introverts crave being social. We’re not hermits.

I enjoy binging on a good show and watching movies and documentaries and stand up, and yes I did watch Love is Blind, including the reunion episode. But I also get tired of TV and don’t want this experience to turn me into a screen zombie. A lot of us are already a little more screen zombified than usual with our phones just trying to stay connected to everyone and keep up with what’s going on.

Well, I’m tired of the news headlines and the interviews with people who are experiencing the worst case scenarios. And I’m definitely tired of being indoors. So what to do? Thought you’d never ask.

I have five ideas to share with you, that do not include TV, of things to do at home while we’re stuck here in this maddening time:

1. Spring clean.

Happy spring! (If you’re on the north side of the equator!) Through all this craziness (and sure, the weather may not be helping) you’ve probably forgotten that winter is officially over. So how about spend some time every day spring cleaning all those nooks and crannies you ignore all year long?

Get elbows deep into your disaster of a closet, or that one drawer you have in your house that you throw random shit into. Even if it is meant to be the random shit drawer, think of it as a treasure hunt. Who knows what you’ll discover in there! And who says chaos can’t be organized?

Get rid of clothes and shoes. And socks that you know you always say no to when you’re choosing which pair to wear. Just get rid of them.

Look under your bed and deal with the mess that may be there (last time I cleared out and cleaned the space under my bed I found a few moth wings. Embarrassing and gross).

Clean the insides of your kitchen cabinets. Clean your microwave (for goodness’ sake you should be doing this regularly anyway).

And when was the last time you deep cleaned your fridge? What about your pantry? The other day I reorganized my pantry items and it feels so good to now know what I actually have in there. (Goodbye three half-empty boxes of expired lasagna pasta.)

You get the point. There’s a lot you can do for your home while you two are stuck together right now. Make a big cup of coffee, put on your gym playlist, and give your place some love. A good dusting and shaking to reset your living space will make you feel so much better about being in it. Plus cleaning can be very therapeutic.

2. Dedicate time to your hobby.

When the world was normal you probably didn’t spend as much time on your hobby as you would have liked. Now that you’re home, how about you nurture those things you love to do? If you’re a writer, write. If you’re a painter/artist, paint/draw. A musician? Play. A baker? Make all those recipes you’ve got saved in your phone and bake your heart out. You get the picture. Take this time to enjoy your hobby. Get messy with it. Share it online (or don’t). Whether this thing you love to do is a passion or a casual hobby, now’s the perfect opportunity to dedicate a little more extra time to it.

3. Have a Skype party with your friends.

Many of you may already be doing this, but just a reminder that even though we can’t hang out with friends physically right now we can still see each other virtually. Set up Skype (or whatever other app you use) on your laptop or TV screen and spend time together like you’re all in the same room. Bring wine and have some laughs. Have brunch! (This is the new way to brunch.) And there are probably a lot of people you know who live in another country or city, so how about you use this time to finally catch up?

4. Go for a walk.

Where I am we’re allowed to go outside for walks while maintaining a six-feet distance from people, and this has been my saving grace. Cabin fever is real and a dose of fresh air is necessary. Especially if you have kids or/and a dog, going for a walk is a fantastic sanity-saving activity for everyone. And it’s exercise. If it’s still cold where you are, bundle up and get out there. If your kids are little and have bikes take them out and let them ride. Everyone will come home feeling refreshed and your dog especially will love you for it. Make it a part of your daily routine, weather permitting. It’ll provide some structure to your day and give you something to look forward to.

5. Have a spa day.

Just because you’re home-bound doesn’t mean you have to look or feel like a yeti. Granted I just changed into day clothes and it’s 3:30 p.m., but hear me out. The hair salon is closed and you can’t get your mani and pedi done, but you probably have everything you need at home to give yourself a good pampering.

In no specific order:

Give yourself a mani and pedi (hopefully you have the tools you need but if not just get creative), put on a facial mask, make a hair mask with just a few ingredients from your kitchen and give yourself a hair treatment, blow dry or curl your hair after you wash it if you want to feel extra bedazzled, put on some make-up (maybe watch a few make-up tutorials to really have fun with it), exfoliate your body, shave, wax, whatever, then dip into a luxurious bubble bath in your sparkly clean tub (because you deep cleaned your bathroom the other day while spring cleaning, right?). Light some candles, soak in the bubbles and the peace, and just chill. (Parents, you must do this part after bedtime, obviously.)

If you have a partner this could be a fun couples thing you can do together. Otherwise, it’s the perfect me-time thing to do. And you don’t even have to do all the treatments in a single day. Maybe do a different thing each day of the week. #selfcareinthetimeofcorona

So there you have it. My five TV-free things-to-do-at-home ideas for this strange, strange time we’re living in. So far I’ve done #2, 3, and 4 but I’ve got my eye on #1 and I definitely want to do several of the ideas listed in #5.

I’d love to know what you’ve been doing to keep yourself from feeling like a restless couch potato these days. How have you been spending your socially distanced time? How have you been taking care of yourself?

I don’t recognize the world anymore and I’m trying not to be anxious about it. News headlines and press conferences and speeches made by leaders are making me feel like I’m in a Black Mirror episode. This COVID-19 pandemic has infected us in more than one way, turning us into a panicked, gloved, masked people who toilet-paper hoard. Who are we anymore?

I went for a walk yesterday evening, desperate to get out of my house and move my body, and I felt the alienation in the way passersby casually moved over to the next sidewalk before our paths could cross. Am I being paranoid or are they really trying to keep that six-feet distance? But from me? I’m not the virus. (Am I? Or maybe I am. Maybe we all are, and that’s the point.)

Then I found myself doing the same thing. I turned in the opposite direction when I heard a person cough lightly up ahead of me as they came out of their car. Nope, not today, and away I went. We’ve become afraid not only of this thing that we don’t understand, but of each other.

We’ve never been good with the unknown. We humans thrive on structure and predictability (well, most of us, I think). We always want answers, proof, assurance. All these things bring us comfort, much like the comfort a baby feels when she knows her mother is near.

But our sense of security and normalcy have been interrupted, watered down into strange days that pass into strange weeks. We’re not making any plans and we’re worrying about the ones we did make long ago that now sit there on our calendars, just floating in an unsure not-too-distant future, reminding us of a time where we could schedule something weeks in advance, so casually, so confidently, so… normally.

These last couple of weeks have been unsettling and jarring, and even though I’ve been loving the Coronavirus memes and jokes (keep them coming please), and enjoying the break from commuting, I know there have been many people around the world who have felt the jaws of this pandemic in a very real and tragic way. And my heart goes out to them.

I’m an introvert, so time spent at home and to myself is more of a life line for me than a challenge. However, this forced home-bound situation we’re finding ourselves in is even making me feel a little people-deprived and stir crazy.

Mostly though, it’s making me reflect on just how much we rely on each other and the many communities of which we are a part, in ways we don’t really think about. There’s so much we took for granted. The hugs we give friends, the spontaneous meet-ups, the birthday party or other celebration we plan because we want to be surrounded by people we like and love—all these things that came so easily and that felt so simple are just not so anymore. My parents aren’t a plane ride away anymore.

And really it wasn’t our fault that we took these simple joys for granted. I’d argue it’s in our nature to not actively appreciate or recognize what we have until it’s gone. And perhaps it’s impossible to be constantly appreciative. Perhaps we need strange and scary moments to shake us awake a little, from time to time (just not a pandemic please).

Yet through all this, we are doing what we do best as humans. We are adapting. In this time of isolation, of uncertainty, we are finding ways to connect and make each other laugh.

We’re playing music and singing songs to each other on our balconies, creating obstacle courses in our living rooms with pillows and cups so our kids can exercise and play, and so we can be kids with them again.

We’re Skyping, Face-timing, Zooming, Whatsapping, and whatever other video mechanisms are out there- ing to see each other, speak to each other, and tell each other that hey, we’re still here.

Through all this, we haven’t stopped believing that this will end. We haven’t stopped loving. And maybe after this becomes a chapter that we will dog-ear to tell our kids about when they’re older, we’ll love differently because of it.

Maybe we’ll hug each other next time for a few seconds longer. Book that flight to see that friend or family member that we’ve been putting off for years, because life. Maybe we’ll splash in the public pools with a little more glee and dance a little more freely at the next party we go to.

Maybe we’ll love our bodies better too. Maybe we’ll go out for more walks or take up running (because social distancing has made us want to run from the walls of our homes) or maybe we’ll be more attune to our health: drink more water, make a doctor’s appointment we’ve been avoiding, start taking vitamins, stop eating foods that make us feel less than good, sign up for our first 5K, or start going to therapy.

Who knows what we will be like after this is over. Who knows if we’ll move on to the next chapter and just, move on. Forget. Get on with life and continue with our old habits, our old familiar, comfortable ways. Netflix and numb.

Whatever happens, I just know that this whole experience has shown me that we do love each other, even though we have a shitty way of showing it sometimes. Small businesses are missing us right now. Parents are missing schools. College students are missing classrooms and campus events. Athletes are missing the roar of the stadium, the rush of the game. Museums are missing the steady flow of footsteps. Concert venues are missing music. And loved ones across lands and seas, and even mere streets, are missing each other.

All this missing I equate to loving.

And sure social media is great and has its pros, especially now, but I hope this experience of being physically a part because we have to reminds us that togetherness and connection and community in real life are infinitely more valuable than a tag on a post or a text convo that tapers off with “lol.”

Strange times, indeed, and stranger times ahead, probably.

This virus may be mutating and spreading rapidly, but let’s not forget, we hold our own powers too. In our ability to evolve and adapt and keep getting up. In our ability to love fiercely and endlessly, and spread that love—and hope and strength and support—rapidly.

In the end, history has proven that we are resilient. The courageous and inspiring stories always outlive and outshine the stories of fear.

Many stories will come out of this time, but I hope the overarching theme from those stories are not of fear. I hope they’re of love. I hope the story is of how we, the world, stepped up together to fight off fear because we love each other (except the toilet paper hoarders, they don’t love anyone but themselves apparently).

I hope the stories are of how families spent time together, learned something new about each other. I hope they’re of the heroism of the people on the front lines (thank you) and the resilience of people who overcame challenges that seemed insurmountable.

So yes let’s continue to socially distance for now to stay safe, but in the process, let’s also continue to love and show each other just how creative we can be in doing so. We’re in this together.