The last three months have been challenging for almost all of us. After all, it’s not every day that you have to learn how to live during a pandemic.
Looking back on my own reactions to it, I think of the stages of grief. And have no doubt, there is grief.
Grief over a life that I used to have. A life of concerts, drinks with friends, dinners out and vacations. A life free of worry about contracting a virus that could threaten me and my family.
Denial — It’s not going to last that long. I remember our director telling us in mid-March we would be working from home. I was so convinced that it would be over soon, I didn’t really bring many things home with me other than my laptop. I was sure we would be back in the office soon.
Anger — I liken this to feeling like a little kid and throwing a temper tantrum. I want my life back, to take a vacation like normal. Why can’t I do this? Why is this happening to me? Some must be to blame!
Bargaining — Once this is over, I swear I’ll never complain about anything again. I promise. Why can’t it be over soon?
Depression – Now it’s three months, with no end in sight. I have to wear a mask every time I go out. We won’t be able to go to New Zealand like we had planned. I’m tired of being home all the time. This sucks!
Acceptance — Well, this is life with Coronavirus. Here’s what I can do, and here’s what I can’t. I’ve made my peace.
With acceptance, comes freedom. Having come to acceptance, I’m seeing the silver linings of life with Coronavirus.
Wow, I’m getting an extra 1 1/2 hours of sleep ever day because I no longer have to commute. I no longer have to struggle through the construction in Boulder Canyon — thank God!
I’m saving money, a lot of money.
Money for gas — one tank lasts me about a month now. I don’t feel compelled to buy “work” clothes — after all, short and a t-shirt works fine. If have a Zoom meeting, I might put on a blouse.
And since we haven’t been to a restaurant in around four months, we’re saving money cooking at home.
The latest thing that’s brought me a sense of gratitude is breaking out of my recreation rut. I love hiking and that is my preferred form of recreation. I had my tried and true places I always went to during spring and summer.
Mt. Sanitas and Chautauqua in spring time, and then East Portal, Hessie and Brainard Lake in summer.
But as I wrote about in an earlier post, hiking seems complicated and way too crowded in the era of Coronavirus. It’s forced me to re-discover other activities I’d forgotten about, neglected.
Last week, my husband and I had a blast playing tennis for the first time in ten years.
Sad to say, I hadn’t gone biking in about three years. Like tennis, biking seems to have more of a built-in social distancing aspect to it. Even if you encounter someone, it’s brief fleeting one-second encounter. And there are plenty of places to bike ride — rural dirt roads — where we never see a soul.
So here’s to rediscovering another way to enjoy life in the mountains of Colorado….
