So, we have all confirmed that I have wanderlust and like to just go.
This quarantine, while I understand it's important, is killing me.
I haven't stayed this long in one place in a while and frankly, I am about to just drive to the forest to go.
There are so many things that I've wanted to say about this, but I don't want to piss anyone off and I really don't want to start debates...so...here goes.
At the first of the year, people were posting things like there was going to be a plague or something this year, because it happens about every hundred years or so. Mother Nature has an incredible way of balancing her ecosystem when things are out of wack, and in my belief, this is one of her defense mechanisms.
One of the funny things that keeps running through my head, as I see empty shelves and people doing things more as families, and NOT going their separate ways, is that this must be what it was like a hundred years ago. Families were families back then, not just driving to separate events and activities. I sat at the park and watched a family of three kids enjoy the afternoon with their mom and grandparents...sitting on the grass. Would they have done this if we weren't social distancing? Would they have done this of Covid19 hadn't invaded our lives? What have they learned about themselves, their family?
Then I see the kids doing their schoolwork at home. Again, it's like we stepped into a time about a hundred years ago. Back then, there were mostly one room schoolhouses, and the majority of their learning was at home (in my opinion). Parents are finding a new found appreciation for teachers, and I bet a lot of parents now understand what teachers go through every day, times 25 kids. A lot of people that I talked to actually like the idea of homeschooling now and are exploring that option more and more.
Then I think about the Great Depression. How in one day, everything crashed and it took a long time for us to recover from it. And I see that happening now. People are unemployed, not able to pay their bills, not able to find any work. And the amazing thing is, instead of these people stressing about finding a job (thanks unemployment for the majority of them), they're enjoying life. They're not running around looking for another job like their life depends on it, though some are.
And people are getting innovative with substitutions for things they need...like ELASTIC! A lot of people are making masks and helping out the communities (even if they are making a profit from it), and the demand is way more than the supply. So, what are people doing...they're substituting for elastic...again, what we did so many years ago. It got to the point that during WWII (I believe) there was rationing. People made do with what they could get.
And then I wonder, what our new normal will be like. After the Gulf War, when I was in high school, things changed. I can remember gas prices going up overnight, and it was hard on people. Ever since, gas has not been below $1.00, and even though it's fairly close, I doubt it will go down that far...but still...on average $1.50 per gallon is pretty darn cheap if you ask me. Yes, we will come out of this slowly, and we will try to cut the infection rate, but what is our new normal going to be like?
When I was in elementary school, WalMart closed at night...it's closing at night again. We adapt. People stay home more often now, even if it's not by choice. They're discovering things like crafts, reading, hobbies. Many are rediscovering their partners and learning to live so long together. Think about it, people usually see each other maybe 7 or 8 hours a day, and now it's all day. There are hobbies that we had that our partners either didn't know or didn't have time to participate in, and now there is time.
There was a time before 24 hour stores and theme parks. There was a time before our schedules were bombarded with different activities. There was a time when we were at home and getting ready for bed when it got dark. And that time is here again...but will it stay?
I'm not the biggest fan of this social distancing. I'm a hugger, and I don't have family to be close to all the time...it's just me. When I hugged my friends, that was my family...and that's gone right now. I'm an extrovert...but can be happy doing things at home also...but there comes that time when I'm about to climb the walls, and I've hit that time. I'm not like most people and have a TV to watch, or internet at the house, or anything like that.
So, this is an unprecented time that we're in...we've never dealt with anything like this. Our parents haven't dealt with anything this bad...some grew up in the time of Polio, but was it this bad? It's human nature to want that contact, that communication, that connection. I sit here most days and wish I had someone to talk to, just about mundane things. The people I call are always busy and don't want to talk to me...so I study, and go a little further in my shell. But I miss the conversations, the interactions, the jokes and laughs.
As things start to open up, people will be available to talk. I liken the coming out of quarantine to coming out of the cellar after a really bad storm. You've been huddled in your safe spot for the duration, and now you come out, and look around. You assess the damage, and life goes on. Life doesn't stop because people die. Life doesn't stop because people get sick. Life goes on...the Earth still orbits the Sun, and tomorrow will come. Everyone and everything on this Earth has a time, a season...some are short and some are long, but no one lives forever.
(And I know this may sound cold, but I've lost so many people close to me that I have to look at it from a different perspective, and that's what I've done.)
One of my friends put everything I've been feeling into one picture...and with her permission it's here.
So, while we're at home, it's OK to dress up and miss our old lives...they may never be the same. We all have a new normal that we have to get used to, and some adapt easier than others.
This is my opinion and way of looking at things, and I do apologize in advance if I've offended anyone with my callus way of looking at things...but it's my blog...and I get to pick what I put on it!
I hope everyone has a good day. I hope you are staying safe. I hope you're adapting.
