The coronavirus, COVID-19, has indeed affected my life, as I’m sure it has affected yours. We’re all in it together to try to survive – helping ourselves and others to stay safe and healthy. I live with my eighty-three year old husband of almost fifty years, so his health and safety are on my mind much more than mine. He has had, over the last few years, mild pulmonary problems and is under a doctor’s care for high blood pressure. Fortunately, I don’t have any of the usual old folks’ ailments. I may be turning eighty in two months, but my body has never acted like it.
So what’s my usual lockdown day like?
First of all, I get up early. In the normal past I would get up before daylight and go to the gym every day. These days I wait until sunrise and then take a morning walk every day. I had until four days ago the perfect route. I would walk from my house to the beach and walk along the full length of the beach Strand. Unfortunately, the Strand and the beach are now closed, and I’ve had to walk elsewhere. So far I’ve tried several routes, but none has given me the same pleasure and same amount of steps as I got during my beach travels. I guess I forgot to mention my obsession with steps. I won’t walk back into my house unless I have logged at least eleven thousand steps. That’s because I sit so much the rest of the day at home.
But that sitting isn’t such a bad thing. I spend the rest of my days very much like how I spent my days prior to this lockdown. After breakfast and a shower, I settle in at my computer and write. These days I’m writing at least one poem, one small stone, one journal entry – and if I’m disciplined enough I work on a chapter of my new memoir, every day. Today, I’m also writing this blog post – something I do at least once a week.
So the coronavirus is not affecting my writing life very much, and I’m very thankful for that. I encourage my writer friends out there to sit down and write. Don’t wallow about our current predicament, write about it instead.
And read. I’m reading book number eight this year already. Come on, join me. Here’s a perfect quote for right now: “Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” – Mason Cooley.
Then there are the diversions – the daily news and movies now streaming on our television set. My favorite is Rachel Maddow, so I have to hear what’s she’s got to say every day she’s on. I also have to watch Jeopardy. And we just saw The Two Popes, well worth the time, I think.
However, I do find one thing about this lockdown life scarier than most – going shopping for groceries. I’ve found that people do not observe the six-foot rule when they are in grocery stores and though the stores keep things cleaned and wiped down, people are almost in your face in there. I avoid them as much as possible to the point that I’ll order food takeout from our local restaurants a couple of nights a week. That keeps me out of the grocery stores except for once a week or so and helps support our local businesses. That’s not a bad thing, right?
I’m sure I’ll be writing more about my daily coronavirus experiences. Please share yours here in the comment section below. And remember, we’re all in this together.
Wishing you all to stay safe and healthy – with much love.
Speak Your Mind