An unanticipated upside of this COVID-19 quasi-lockdown is that we can appreciate aspects of the madness unique to this situation as well as continue certain benefits following its completion.
For example, and I recognize how trivial this is, Costco shopping has improved substantially. What had been stressful, a crowded venue with many people behaving without regard to the presence of other humans, where you not only needed to navigate human-constructed blockades but also dodge carts as they caromed about the store, has ameliorated. That the store restricts the number of shoppers at any given moment, you can move freely and shop without needing to adjust your presence to allow space for others while not needing to worry about some errant cart striking you down.
Similarly, the rare times you find yourself driving somewhere are generally sans traffic. Routes that prompted anxiety for delays would be inevitable now can occur without delay. We traveled to a location that I’d never visit given the otherwise certain blockade of slow-moving autos for miles, and never did we need to hit the brakes to slow down, rush hour be damned.
My family video chatted to play Just One, something we had never done before. We’d play it again, which is to say that we might not carry this connective activity beyond our COVID-induced sequestering. My brother and I engage in semi-regular bouts of Splendor. Various friends engage online for games and other activities, and we’ve begun to video chat at work, which could continue as, down the line, individuals rather than entire Agencies telework. I exercise in some fashion near daily, sneaking in pull ups on the hang board that had been long neglected, and taking a moment to do chair dips in-between emails. Daily runs, even if brief, occur. All of these activities are becoming engrained as what’s normal, and I hope that they spill into normal life once the social distancing restrictions lift.
Spending more time with my girlfriend is wonderful as well. We each do quite a lot of things separately, like she’s chatting with a friend at the moment. Each week, we set aside one night to do things exclusively together, and otherwise, as would be the case during a non-quarantine week, do things separately. Though, it is fun seeing her as we pass across a room to reach the kitchen or bedroom. And, being able to interact briefly across the spans of workdays is also a delight. This entire “thing” seems to bring us closer together, which is a blessing.
All-in-all, I remain appreciative that this societal chaos enables me to remember what’s important and to focus on what matters, which is the love the we bring to each other as well as our wellbeing, and to each I cling with eyes wide open and smiles and appreciation turned up to their max.