Yesterday we made the decision. Stay home. It’s the only real way to stop this disease in its tracks. I’ve read more articles, posts, memes, and scientific and non scientific information to assure me that this is the right thing to do. Self quarantining is the only way. If we are waiting for someone else to tell us what to do, we are making a mistake. Our leaders seem ill-equipped to follow the evidence or listen to the scientists that fully understand, so it’s time to be the leaders that our families and friends need.
It’s not easy to tell a 12 year old who has just been let out of school “this is not a snow day - we don’t need to be fearful, but we need to be CAREFUL.” Think about that word. CARE. FUL. We need to be full of care. Full of care for people that are at risk - the immunocompromised (there are soooo many people who take medication that suppresses their immune systems or that suffer from diseases that impact their immune system), the elderly, the people with breathing problems, the people with sick parents and grandparents…. the list goes on and on. While we may not be at high risk for death, none of us want to experience a terrible flu-like virus either - let alone give it to someone at high risk for death. Talk about disruptive to our lives! Give me the disruption of working from home via computer and phone. Give me the disruption of more family time. Give me the disruption of time to read, write, create, cook, laugh with my family, clean out closets, write letters, go for a solitary run in the fresh air (at least for now)…all the things we never have time to do in our over-scheduled lives. I’m choosing to be grateful for so many things in this moment. Grateful that I can work from home. Grateful that I am currently healthy. Grateful that my family is healthy. Am I sad that my Italian wedding this summer will likely be postponed? Yes. Am I sad that important business trips and meetings will need to be put off? Yes. Am I sad that I won’t get to see my friends and colleagues for awhile? Yes. But in the big picture of things, none of those things matter. Life will eventually return to some kind of normal. In the meantime, we must create a new normal. This new normal has the added benefit of being closer to our family than we have been in awhile. On a normal weekend day, my 12 year old would set off for a day of running around with his friends. Today he went for a run/walk with me, did his own laundry, bathed the dog, and wants to help cook dinner. (WOW) Right now he’s doing push-ups, sit-ups, and wall sits. While he’s not happy about his lack of social interaction (he is SO social!), he seems to understand the serious nature of this situation and respects our responsibility to others. I respect his ability to turn lemons into lemonade.
Today, I read a book for two hours, wrote for awhile, went for a long walk, cooked some soup, and did a lot of laundry. I also created a vegan chocolate chip cookie last night - shockingly good!
Those things feel so grounding. I imagine these activities will get old as the days or possibly weeks progress, but right now they feel like such luxury! I’m confident we will get on each other’s nerves, watch more Netflix than we should, and long for our favorite restaurants. It doesn’t matter. Wisdom from my recent yoga retreat in Mexico - “You don’t have to like everything”. We are used to fast paced, quick access, immediate gratification lifestyles. What if we embrace this time to slow down, simplify, “hunker down”? I feel extreme privilege even saying this, because I know there are many not as fortunate as I am. I realize that there are people that HAVE to get out to make money and HAVE to make decisions that they may not want to make, but must for economic reasons. I pray that there is help on the horizon from the government, or that the rest of us continue to help our neighbors in every way we can.
When Monday arrives, I will spend a lot of time on the phone and zoom meetings instead of personal face to face interaction. That’s ok. I feel a new type of bond with my team as we navigate through this crisis together; as we get creative about how to do our work and communicate with customers and teammates. I feel a need to protect them and encourage them to think of themselves and their families first. I feel a need to tell everyone I love to JUST STAY HOME. Just for awhile. We will find a way to get our work done. I fully trust the experiences that have come before us - China, Italy - they say they wish they would have…..before tens of thousands of people died in the wake of something that could be slowed by “social distancing”. - the new buzzphrase of 2020 - who would have thought?
We will all be impacted by this. I’m going to stay focused on gratitude - for health, for the ability to “hunker down”, for my family, for Netflix, for good books to read, and for lots of ways to communicate with others that don’t involve face to face interaction. I’m thinking of having a virtual “wine night” this week with my friends. Who’s in? Sending all the positive vibes out to the universe and to my people. As I think about Italy and their current lockdown, I think about this beautiful greeting on the wall at one of my favorite places there - Castello di Ama - an entire room covered with these little messages.
