In surfing social media, it seems there are two typical responses to the quarantine and stay-at-home orders. I'm certain there are plenty of people who fall in between but, of course, people posting on social media seem to be gravitating toward one of these polar responses.
The opportunists. These are people like me who see working from home/staying at home as a chance to finally do things they don't typically have time to do, so they've taken up EVERYTHING. I finished a cross stitch, launched beta reads and edits on Domino five months early, scored a spot in a short story anthology, tackled several home improvement projects (truthfully, this was Rick, but I supported him and helped as much as I could), stayed on top of home care and stocking, started another small cross stitch, and am reading the third novel in the Planetfall series. I have a lot going on, and I'm loving it because the progress feels like it's turbo charged! If only I could do all of this, and do it this quickly, all the time. I can only imagine how much faster I could get it done if I didn't have to log into work all day. Just saving the commute time has made a tremendous difference in my life and productivity. Now I see why part-time workers and retirees are loving life. What's not to love when you finally have time?
The fatalists. I know it's a harsh name, but honestly I'm having trouble coming up with anything better that describes it accurately. These folks are on the other end of the spectrum. Everything is turned upside down, and trying to find new routines is a struggle. Every day is a challenge, and they fight not only to get through the day, but to not fall into anxiety and depression while they muddle through the day. Most of the people I hear from in this camp have circumstances working against them and are in difficult life situations: either medical issues, job and/or money issues, or caregiving for children or incapacitated adults. Some people are in transition phases of life, who have found their plans upended, and don't know how to forge a new path forward - upcoming graduates or people taking on major life changes like marriage, a move, a job change, or having a baby fall in this group. And honestly, I can see why so many people are in this group. The truth is that I'm lucky that I'm middle aged, with not much exciting going on that's been disrupted by COVID-19. I can see how having your routines and experiences disrupted when life was already in a mixed-up state would be discouraging. There are a lot of unknowns, and deep down I think we'd all agree that life is scary right now.
Actually, I think we all have a right to "lose it" occasionally for that very reason. Everything we've known has been wiped away, and we're living in a scary, new reality. Even us opportunists would admit to having moments of feeling overwhelmed or depressed from time to time. The difference is how we manage it. I dig into finding and taking advantage of opportunities - but then again, I can because my life was in a good place before. If this had happened ten years ago, I'd probably be solidly in the fatalists group. Life ebbs and flows, and I'm lucky this happened in a flow.
Don't despair if you're not. I often say in this blog that life is weird, and this is certainly the biggest whopping example of that that I've seen in my life. I think we all "get it" now. The real issue is how we'll emerge to a new reality once this is all over. Will we still all be in it together? Or will it be back to the same old, same old? I think we're hoping for something new, and better. Certainly, there are good things we can take from this, even if it's just wisdom and better skills.
That's all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow, a wonderful weekend, and a blessed Resurrection Sunday. ,
Bye!
The opportunists. These are people like me who see working from home/staying at home as a chance to finally do things they don't typically have time to do, so they've taken up EVERYTHING. I finished a cross stitch, launched beta reads and edits on Domino five months early, scored a spot in a short story anthology, tackled several home improvement projects (truthfully, this was Rick, but I supported him and helped as much as I could), stayed on top of home care and stocking, started another small cross stitch, and am reading the third novel in the Planetfall series. I have a lot going on, and I'm loving it because the progress feels like it's turbo charged! If only I could do all of this, and do it this quickly, all the time. I can only imagine how much faster I could get it done if I didn't have to log into work all day. Just saving the commute time has made a tremendous difference in my life and productivity. Now I see why part-time workers and retirees are loving life. What's not to love when you finally have time?
The fatalists. I know it's a harsh name, but honestly I'm having trouble coming up with anything better that describes it accurately. These folks are on the other end of the spectrum. Everything is turned upside down, and trying to find new routines is a struggle. Every day is a challenge, and they fight not only to get through the day, but to not fall into anxiety and depression while they muddle through the day. Most of the people I hear from in this camp have circumstances working against them and are in difficult life situations: either medical issues, job and/or money issues, or caregiving for children or incapacitated adults. Some people are in transition phases of life, who have found their plans upended, and don't know how to forge a new path forward - upcoming graduates or people taking on major life changes like marriage, a move, a job change, or having a baby fall in this group. And honestly, I can see why so many people are in this group. The truth is that I'm lucky that I'm middle aged, with not much exciting going on that's been disrupted by COVID-19. I can see how having your routines and experiences disrupted when life was already in a mixed-up state would be discouraging. There are a lot of unknowns, and deep down I think we'd all agree that life is scary right now.
Actually, I think we all have a right to "lose it" occasionally for that very reason. Everything we've known has been wiped away, and we're living in a scary, new reality. Even us opportunists would admit to having moments of feeling overwhelmed or depressed from time to time. The difference is how we manage it. I dig into finding and taking advantage of opportunities - but then again, I can because my life was in a good place before. If this had happened ten years ago, I'd probably be solidly in the fatalists group. Life ebbs and flows, and I'm lucky this happened in a flow.
Don't despair if you're not. I often say in this blog that life is weird, and this is certainly the biggest whopping example of that that I've seen in my life. I think we all "get it" now. The real issue is how we'll emerge to a new reality once this is all over. Will we still all be in it together? Or will it be back to the same old, same old? I think we're hoping for something new, and better. Certainly, there are good things we can take from this, even if it's just wisdom and better skills.
That's all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow, a wonderful weekend, and a blessed Resurrection Sunday. ,
Bye!
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