I have been so thankful that my husband and I are both retired during this pandemic and particularly the lock down. It has made it so much easier for us. The Corona virus has brought about dramatic changes in our lives in the past six months; some we can take in stride but others have been difficult.
The first is that complaining doesn't help; it weakens your resolve, plays havoc with your mental health and saps your energy. This is not to say that I never complain, its just that if I can I save complaining for when it will actually accomplish something.
Second, the lock down made sense at the beginning of the corona virus outbreak. The medical professionals didn't know enough about the virus and how to deal with the disease. Our age and underlying medical issues made staying away from others easy in order to ensure not becoming ill. The lock down was the only sure way that we knew could prevent the spread.
And thirdly, we have more reasons to be thankful and count our blessings than reasons to complain. It would be unfair to complain when so many people had to deal with so much more and under such difficult conditions. Ten reasons we were not in a position to complain.
1: We fortunately have not downsized. We still live in a house with a large yard,a deck and enough space that my husband and I can spend quality time together yet could still spend time apart to have precious time alone. Like many others the lock down gave us plenty of opportunity to deal with clutter, clean, organize the house and try new recipes.
2. We live in a detached home. I reminded myself often that just walking out the door into fresh air was something many people were not able to do, let alone have a yard large enough to enjoy and a deck to sit and bask in the warm weather. We have no shared hallway, no elevator, no stairwells like we would have had in an apartment or condo. We did not need to worry about pushing a button or breathing contaminated air in an elevator.
3. We are retired! So no need to organize space and time to work from home. No schedules, no zoom meetings going awry, no need to meet anyone else's expectations.
4. We are alone in the house: No children to support during distance learning. That would be tough. And tougher still if your child struggles with school, or stresses easily. Also no young children to keep occupied or teenagers to keep at home. All stressful situations.
5. We are technically savvy and have good internet service to stay connected to the outside world. Our children can keep in contact with us through FaceTime, Snap Chat and texting.
6. We have many interests and hobbies to give our days variety, structure and purpose as well as the space to pursue them.
7. We like each other and are accustom to spending large chunks of time together.
Sounds simple, but many people were alone and lonely, or locked down in unpleasant or unsafe situations with people they don't like.
8. We live in a small town in a large area that had fewer cases of the disease. This does help lower the anxiety.
9. We are not that social. In fact we are homebodies. For extroverts and people who like to be surrounded by others, the lock down must have been excruciating. As introverts, we can tolerate a great deal of social isolation. In some ways staying at home is not that difficult but when the time came we were excited to see people we know and have social interaction when we could.
10. We thankfully, had an opportunity to take a once in a lifetime trip returning just at the beginning March, so not all of our travel plans for 2020 were derailed.
As much as I appreciate that the lock down kept us safe there are however some aspects were difficult, some very difficult and some very painful. Along with being thankful, we still need to acknowledge that what truly makes the situation difficult and what we will most appreciate when this pandemic ends.
Not being able to pop out to the store without a second thought whenever you need something was uncomfortable and took adjustment. Just a little thing that used to be taken for granted, now reminded you that your freedom was curtailed by this disease.
We had to cancel plans for the trips we were to take to celebrate my husband's 60th birthday and for our 35th wedding anniversary. We were unable to visit my father and family for quite some time. Phone calls only. Although we can visit now it still needs to be done with care and consideration.
Most disappointing of all is not being able to visit our son, our daughter and her husband and our precious grandson. Shortly it will be a year since we hugged him, our daughter and son goodbye. Our plans to visit in April were rescheduled to June and then to July and then August and now that is slipping away as well. It is not feasible for them to try to cross Canada to visit us for the summer either. So we have not been physically present for his entire year as a two year old.
With the real possibility of further lock downs being required in the fall and winter, we need to take advantage of the good weather and enjoy what freedom we do have now.
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