(Above photo: I made a new friend. Literally. I think I’ll call him Wilson.)
Well, this isn’t where any of us thought we’d be even a week ago, let alone a month ago.
But we keep on going. I now have my weekly short story mailing list underway – a free story every Tuesday. If you’d like a little piece of escape delivered to your inbox once a week, sign up here!
As for the rest of it … I keep thinking, if there’s one thing I wish I could take forward with me from all of this, it’s a renewed awareness of scarcity, and habits for dealing with it. We already lived frugally, I thought, but now I find myself using a dish towel to mop up spills rather than paper towels, and rewashing plastic bags to use again. We’ve started a compost bucket, something I’ve intended for ages but somehow never got around to. I’m thinking about stepping up my gardening plans, not necessarily to grow more food, but to make my garden more self-sufficient and sustainable and environmentally friendly.
… oh no wait, there are two things. The other thing all this has brought home to me, in a very visceral way, is how interconnected everyone is.
I already knew that, intellectually; I think most people do. But there have been so many examples, through all of this, of people stepping up to help each other. And it’s one thing to know on a purely technical level how much we rely on the people who sell us our groceries and clean our buildings and drive our delivery trucks. But in this new world, they are the front-line first responders, putting their lives on the line every day to make sure we get the things we need to be healthy and safe and comfortable.
And also, facing the possibility of being socially isolated makes you realize how many small, friendly interactions you have with people every day.
It’s a strange, scary time. Take it easy on yourself, and take care of each other.