Briefly following up on what my innovative and talented friends are doing during the pandemic, here’s the other side.
Almost 8 months of sheltering has been a throwback on many levels for Byron and me. When we married, he was in college and I was teaching. We were poor, very poor. Our entertainment consisted of potluck suppers and a game of bridge with other very poor friends. Although finances are somewhat different , the situation is comparable. We don’t eat out, we don’t socialize except with family and one or two close friends, we don’t shop except for necessities, and we are not traveling.
There is also this : a whole lot of togetherness, 24/7 to be exact ! Coffee and a little dreaded news in the morning, his masked trip to the post office, decision on lunch ( and dinner because it’s light for one and take-out for the other ! ), nap for me and some sort of TV sports for him ( some historical ), and then, THE RIDE, the highlight of our day. We have covered every road, pig trail, path, and ( sometimes ) driveways in 4 counties and 1/2 of western South Carolina. And as I mentioned earlier, cruising just like when we dated——–without the MUCH-ENJOYED parking of the 50s. Some things are simply hard to give up.
Togetherness : it has its merits.
I’d love to hear your pandemic journey.
Enjoyed today’s word from the woods.
I have secretly enjoyed this time. I am used to being on my own, so isolation has not been terribly different. My grandsons still come over masked- up. That would have been a big loss if I didn’t have an upstairs they love. The pandemic has been a great excuse to avoid in person meetings for various obligations I took on after retirement. Now I can attend it my very casual clothes in my own home via Zoom. I am slowly shedding some of those obligations, too! With colder weather on the horizon, I will miss my porch visits with friends. I am working with a writing coach and developing a latent talent. I love it! My observation is that a certain amount of malaise has set in. It’s hard to gather the initiative to do a lot! But I am very blessed to not have anything I have to do. Keep writing, Di!
One of my dearest friends passed away recently and those “porch visits” which were common in our day, but disappearing in today’s world, sparked some memories from my past. One of life’s under rated pleasures, in my opinion, is sitting on a porch, deck, or patio at the end of day, sipping wine, and relaxing with friends or love ones. Watching the sun go down with the stars beginning to appear, and exploring life’s deep questions such as : Where did we come from ? Where are we going? And why are we here? Will we ever meet again?
😺