Living in a Pandemic

Posted by Jack Hill on December 17th, 2020

The Coronavirus Pandemic has changed the landscape of each of our lives. The world has become vastly different, as evidenced when we venture from our homes as people are wearing masks and staying far from us. Grandparents visit with their families from afar and no one gets a hug. No one shakes hands in a formal greeting – we bump elbows or place one hand over your heart with a kind nod of your head. We must plan our trips to the grocery store and fill our carts for several weeks – gone is the ability to safely return on a moment’s notice if you find something was forgotten or need an ingredient for a dish. Doctors are diagnosing via computer since people over 60 are not permitted in the offices unless it is a dire emergency.

There are much talk and curiosity as to what our “new normal” will look like. It will, however, feel and be the new abnormal for a long time. For me personally, the 7 plus weeks of being under stay-at-home orders brought me back to the 9 ½ years I cared for my mother in virtual isolation as written in my book One

Caregiver’s Journey. I am a veteran of living alone. I have not become depressed, bored, or anxious because it is a life I once lived and have had little trouble readjusting to my former self. I have observed as my neighbors complain loudly and struggle when the cleaning ladies cannot come, department stores are closed, or their weekly social activities such as knitting and reading clubs or bridge parties are canceled. I try to patiently listen to all the complaints and watch as people grow restless, depressed, or stressed. It is hard to be empathetic or compassionate. I am happy to navigate to my kitchen, prepare a meal quietly, and am content to watch television, read or get in a walk. I have continued to work out for up to an hour daily with online videos offered by my health club. Frankly, I might not return to my health club for the convenience and satisfaction I have found exercising alone at home. During my walks I have seen families pushing strollers, people in masks talking and laughing across driveways, kids on skateboards, dogs wagging, elderly people pushing walkers with a smile and then I realize that not everyone is struggling.

These people are finding balance in an otherwise uneventful day during a national health crisis. They are enduring and finding ways to enjoy life.

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