The Latest Apocalypse – 2020

 

These are strange days we’re living in. Back in January, had someone told me I’d be isolated in my house for upwards of 30+ days in March and April, I would’ve laughed at them. As a person that requires alone time to be creative, one might think this would be the perfect opportunity to tap into that creativity. Before this all began, who wouldn’t enjoy a good “staycation” from time to time, but impose a forced one upon an entire country, used to having all the freedom and liberty to do whatever the heck they wanted, well, I imagine there are more than a few people out there feeling a bit cranky and stir-crazy, not to mention confused and scared. Regardless of how you’ve viewed this crisis our nation finds herself in, we’re all in the same boat. So how do we get through this and find something positive out of the whole mess? Trust me when I tell you, I’m struggling as well. 

The first two weeks were a bit surreal. I couldn’t quite believe this was happening and began making light of the chaos over toilet paper – scoffing at those who were panicking. I was invited to join a Facebook group deemed the Covid-19 Survivors group – a novel group that has now grown to well over 1500 people,  contributing memes and videos laughing in the face of danger to occupy a little bit of our seemingly endless time. What else can you do? My initial response was to take this as an eating free-for-all as I binge-watched my way through “Tiger King,” “Don’t Fuck with Cats” and “This is Us”  – gorging on popcorn, candy and drinking too much wine. My wardrobe has consisted of comfy pants, no bra and hair that hasn’t seen a hair dryer since this all began. I’ve spent endless hours on social media, trying to figure out what’s really going on, how much information is accurate, and basically wasting a lot of time, all while my phone continues to remind me that my screen time is up 100% from the week before. Sound familiar?

I’m lucky in some ways. At least, I’m not cooped up with a bunch of kids filled with energy, trying to figure out things to keep them occupied as well. But being a hairdresser, I’m classified as a non-essential worker (I beg to differ), and now, like so many, I’m having to think about how to survive without digging into my savings, pay my bills, medical insurance and finding a damn roll of toilet paper somewhere in this city.

So here we are at the end of week two, and now we’re being told it’s entirely possible we’re facing another thirty days of this. #!!%$&*##!!!  Yep.  That’s how I feel and I know I’m not alone. 

I spent most of my winter working on my book and making great progress, but as soon as Cornoa Virus reared its ugly head, I couldn’t seem to focus enough to sit down and spend time with myself and my real work, because all I could think about was that I was being forced to stay home –  and my natural tendency was to rebel against it.  On Monday, March 30, I made a decision – regardless of how many days were left of this, I will find peace with the time. Time, is a precious commodity and yet we are unappreciative of what this temporary space in time has to offer us. 

So, as I begin this third week of home sheltering, I am determined to reset. It’s time to re-focus my energy, get creative, stop eating out of boredom, put in my earbuds, start walking, dust off the Beach Body routines, go to bed at a normal time, shut off social media and finally, put on a bra so I can quit swinging my boobs around like Sue Ellen Mishke (Seinfeld fans will appreciate that one).  The fact is, we all are feeling the pressure. We are forced to find a new normal – for now. We can either waste these moments by focusing on the negative things that will soon be forgotten, criticize our President, the media, make snarky comments, shame, judge, and generally spread hate, division and misinformation that we don’t understand.  Or, we can come together not only as a country but as a community – we can lift our neighbor’s spirits in this time of loneliness and isolation, even if that means having to shout across the street in order to have a conversation with a real person and take our minds off our isolation. And, regardless of how we feel about this, we need to. We can also be productive, creative and laugh at our predicament, because this won’t last forever. Summer is coming. The positive side to this is that we’ve ramped up our standards in the way we interact together, becoming more respectful of our shared spaces and our sanitation standards. Humans need each other. Let’s be there for each other, even if it is at six feet away.

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-Tamara