Living and working from home through Covid-19 feels like the movie, Groundhog Day, except Rene and I don’t wake up every day to Sonny and Cher singing I Got You Babe.
We are maintaining our daily schedule, but since our commute to work is a 20-second walk downstairs instead of a 20 to 30-minute drive, we get up at 4:59 instead of 4:44. Call me a slacker, but those extra 15 minutes of sleep give me a mysterious jolt of energy that lasts until early evening. That, plus we stopped watching the news before falling asleep. These days, we watch a few minutes of Hogan’s Heroes on MeTV before turning out the light.
Since transitioning into work- and stay-at-home mode on March 16, I have worn yoga pants every day, started playing the piano again, am determined to master one-armed push-ups, and am neck-and-neck with hubby in our Covid-19 ping pong tournament.
For the first time ever in our 13-year relationship, a couple weeks ago Rene and I went out for a drive. A drive! It wasn’t my idea—the idea came to me after catching up over the phone with a dear friend and co-worker at Bye Aerospace, who said he and his girlfriend had recently taken a long drive in his Tesla X (he’s a retired Navy Captain and F-18 driver, so he appreciates the need for speed). Rene and I decided to drive to Centennial for our outing. Along the way, we sang along to the radio, stopped at Sonic for burgers, and waved hello to other drivers
Speaking of waving, even our neighbors in the Highwoods are waving! Whenever Rene and I are out on a long walk or a short jaunt to get the mail, everyone who drives by either initiates or returns our greetings. That has never happened before.
Are you seeing a pattern here? I’m doing the stuff I did as a kid again, and I’d like to believe we humans are realizing how much we need and appreciate each other. Despite not being able to see or hug friends and extended family in person, I am focusing on the activities that bring me joy.
Life got unimaginably complicated and upsetting over the past six weeks. The resulting fallout from job losses, furloughs, layoffs, salary cutbacks, business closings, and bankruptcies is already being called an economic downturn of epic proportion—like nothing we’ve seen since the Great Depression. Payments to qualifying taxpayers and business bailouts from the U.S. government are providing some short-term relief now, but the rout has hardly begun.
In his daily Freditorial several weeks ago, our dear friend and Rene’s high-school buddy, Fred Ford, reminded his readers of this quote by Dr. Robert Schuller: “Tough times never last, but tough people do.”
These responses helped me realize that we are on the initial fringes of a “moment of reset,” an opportunity to clear out the junk, develop a new plan to keep moving forward, and re-launch. Adversity is no fun, but I always learn and grow in creative ways when faced head-on with unimaginable challenges.
Along the way, we will grieve for those lost to this frustrating pandemic, shake our heads in frustration, pout for a bit, then clean out another closet, watch Netflix, do another Zoom call, and end each day marveling at our resiliency. And we will remember not to take ourselves too seriously. Watch for “Rene & Diane’s Excellent Stay-at-Home Adventure” video to be premiering soon on our Facebook pages!
In closing, I once again credit Fred Ford for sharing these words from M. Kathleen Casey:
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
Sending you strength, love and hugs!