Thursday, March 25, 2021

I Was Tailor Made For Pandemics

 


I think the reason I did so well during the Coronavirus pandemic is simply because so many facets of it really appealed to me.  I truly do think I was tailor made for pandemics and I will tell you why.

 


#1 Social Distancing – heck yeah! 

Stay away from people?  No problem!  Having to stay 6 feet apart meant no hugging (I am NOT a hugger), fist bumps or awkward hand shaking (why do some people think women need a limp fish handshake?).  I have not missed having people in my personal space bubble one iota.  In fact, I am all for ongoing social distancing for a good long time (oh yeah baby!). πŸ˜„

 


#2 Clean Up Your $h#t! 

Pretty sad that it took a mandate from the government and the health departments to get people to do what they should’ve been doing all along (really?), but so be it.  I am thrilled to pieces that the shopping carts are finally clean, public restrooms don’t look like a warzone and most people make a conscious effort wash their hands and cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze.  And outside it is much, much cleaner with far less trash on the ground.  We all seem to be a lot more mindful.  Let’s keep it up people!

 


#3 Stay Home. - OK! 

I like (love!) my home and I am more than happy to spend time there.  I have never quite fully understood the need to constantly be on the go all the time.  What a rat race!  The pandemic really forced people to slow down and spend a lot of time together as a family.  It also had the added benefit of making people take stock of their lives and realize what is truly most important.  And we got a lot of really great parodies on Youtube out of the deal too.  People seem to be taking more pride in their homes as well by cleaning, purging, organizing and doing more home improvement projects.  Preparing and eating your meals at home, eating at the table as a family (what the?) watching movies and playing games together.  Hanging out and having conversations (whoa! teenagers talking to their parents?).  Fantastic!

 


#4 Re-introduction To Polite Behavior

 

Another thing I’ve noticed is people seem to behave much better.  Since the pandemic no one has shoved my grocery cart out of the way to get what they wanted off a shelf.  I am very rarely even bumped into.  No one has reached over the top of me to grab the butter at the same time I was because their need was suddenly more important than mine.  And because of masks I rarely have to listen to other people yammering away on their cell phones while they mindlessly crowd me out of the way to shop.  People seem to be much more patient and willing to wait their turn too.  Proving once again that good manners are never out of style!

 


#5 Crowd Control

 

Since I’m not a big fan of traffic congestion, large groups or crowds I have to say it has really been nice to go places and not have to navigate a lot of cars or people.  We’ve all managed to find alternatives.  Our parks and trail systems are getting well used for their intended purposes which is a benefit to all of us for fresh air and exercise.  There is plenty of space for all us too.  The air is really fresh and no one is in a great big rush.  I love the new atmosphere and energy we all seem to have now.

 


#6 Life Lessons

 

This pandemic has forced many of us to really think outside the box.  A lot of people learned how to work from home (Zoom meetings with or without pants on) and our children learned how to go to school and college online (in their pajamas).  Many had to learn to shop online (grocery pickup anyone?), cook, do their own repairs, sew on a button, make stuff and even give themselves a haircut.  I personally feel I’ve learned a lot as a result of this pandemic and I think a lot of other people have to.  I am hopeful these lessons won’t be lost once things begin to return to “normal”.

 


#7 Masks – the best part!

 

No ugly mugs!  Because of masks I am drop dead gorgeous every single day.  Even if I have a big gob spinach stuck in my teeth.  And so is everybody else!  Plus!  I always know what my breath smells like (now I only offend myself) and forget about rose colored glasses.  Who needs those when you have foggy ones!  Let’s face it, the world always looks phenomenal through a soft lens and now we have our very own pair at any given moment.  No extra charge!  Masks are so much more than just mere protection.  They are amazing.

 


So, all joking aside (or not), I’d like to know.  What are your thoughts?  How do you plan to move forward once this pandemic is over?  What are some of the lessons you have learned that you will carry forward?  What are your greatest concerns?

 

 

16 comments:

  1. 🀣yes to all of these! Those of us with anxiety and who are introverted haven’t struggled as much as many others! 🀣

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  2. This was a great piece of writing. Yes, people are less likely to crowd!

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  3. I totally agree. i'm an introvert so not going out was a no brainer. I hardly ever went to restaurants. I have loved Walmart pick up too, so easy.We did Instacart a few times and it was pricey so now I try and go to Costco at the 65 and older time. It's been nice. I plan on continuing wearing a mask of some sort even after we reach herd immunity. I am fully vaccinated now but those around are not so I will continue the mask wearing.

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    1. I still grocery shop in person. Otherwise I would never leave the house except for work. I have cut my shopping trips considerably however.

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  4. I found the stay-at-home quite enjoyable. Like you, I like my home, and enjoy being in my own space. The constant coming and going never appealed to me. In order to enjoy my home, I need to be in my home. I also am happy to see the attention to cleanliness in public spaces. Seeing someone, say, lick his fingers in any instance has always disgusted me, so I have to confess to feeling somewhat vindicated. Moreover, when I was being prepped for a c-section for my 2nd child, the nurse came in holding the i.v. bag in her mouth, and had no understanding of why I was mortified. I think these things were long overdue for a change!
    As for life's lessons, I may have a different take than you. For several years now, I've had the feeling that the schools really wanted to render teachers obsolete. The heavy reliance on websites to do their teaching was very disconcerting to me. It certainly didn't help my kids. Face it, IXL math can only tell your kid they got the problem wrong, not HOW they got it wrong, for instance. Why bother having teachers at all? I think now that the district has finally begun to understand that technology is merely a tool to aid in person instruction, not a substitute for it. To that end, Would-Be-College-Boy has really missed his classes. About a year ago, the last two weeks of his quarter were switched to online. He completed those, but, as subsequent quarters this year remained remote, he hasn't returned. He refuses to take online classes, saying that while he would do fine, he wouldn't learn a thing and would just jump through the hoops until he got so bored he couldn't bear it anymore. He is anxious to return to the classroom, where he can participate in the give and take of ideas, etc. While this has been a long, slow road with him idle, seeing him develop this sense of self awareness has been great.

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    1. I can't believe the nurse did that. She obviously failed her microbiology course. Yikes.

      As far as online schooling it has been very hands on for us with lots of teacher interaction. Like a big zoom meeting all the time. A lot of extra work for the teachers to pull it off too. We are glad they get to go back next week though. I am very happy for in person learning to resume.

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  5. This was an interesting post -- I truly had not thought about some of the benefits from the pandemic. Granted, we were out of the country when things first got weird...and have never quite gotten on an equal footing since then.
    I'm glad you had work all this time. My teaching/judging gigs evaporated -- poof! -- for two years. Finally I got an appraising/judging job offer again for August, for one of my previous 'regulars.' Hopefully the worst is over.

    *I wonder -- because people are not directly breathing on each other in stores and such, has the cold/flu season been better? I have not seen statistics on this. I do know we only have had a few days of 'iffy' pre-cold symptoms, and not our usual two weeks of flu.
    *I would agree that people are more polite in person -- but they sure haven't been on Facebook and Quora. Nasty, nasty, nasty -- I have read insults (TO STRANGERS!!) that I never would have dreamed would happen.
    I am not a huge fan of the mask thing. I wear it when it's required.

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    1. I find that kind of behavior on social media deplorable. I don't use my personal Facebook anymore. People need to behave themselves.

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  6. I am the only extrovert in a family of introverts and this pandemic has been rough on me! I really miss seeing my extended family and friends face to face, and talking to strangers in the city. Zoom doesn't work for me for anything - exercise, socializing, meetings....I do love the extra time with my kids but being stuck at home drains my energy - I'm envious of your ability to accomplish so much!

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    1. My heart goes out to you. I bet you miss everyone. I personally can't stand Zoom! In person is soooo much better. But, I think it is our future..... :/

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  7. I retired July 2019 and all my friends continue to work. I was so exhausted and ready for some real downtime, that when March came around and I was ready to go pursue my retirement lifestyle plans, I was well engaged in a slo-mo lifestyle so it simply stayed that way! :-) I try to connect with my friends every month or so. Healthcare workers are exhausted and those are my friends so frequency is low.

    I'm onboarded to covid vaccines for 10 weeks while I still have a license. I get a knee replacement in July (yippee!!!!!) so October I'll be ready to GO! Cheers to health travel by winter?

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    1. I was exhausted and ready for some slo mo myself last year. Lockdown made it happen otherwise I fear to think what might have happened. Work has kept me plenty busy nonetheless.

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  8. Great post! I was shaking my head in agreement through it all.

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  9. You make a lot of good points. The first few months I saved a lot of money only going out once a week. I also discovered I could get by just fine only going out once a week. I'm not big on hugging and hand shaking either so I didn't/don't miss that. I like the mask on days I don't want to put on make-up. Yes, there are good things that have come out of this pandemic.

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