COVID-19--The Boomer Remover?
After wearing the same mumu forthree days straight I wrote the following Facebook post: Irealize this is a small matter but I’m going to have to buy more lounge ware.
The comments from this post havebeen so entertaining I thought I would share them.
Please describe“lounge ware”?? Sweatpants & tee shirts=loungewear;wine+snacks&TV=lounge ware, right?- SM Good point, sorry about themisspelling.
I know I have to force myself to put on real clothes- NL
I gave up on real clothes. Stretch pants for days. I went to church today braless and in my fuzzy slippers and it was great!- JM
I’m debating the needfor a shower today- JS
Ripe is good.- KE
Amazing how personalhygiene becomes an optional part of life…-BT
Bill, aren’t wesupposed to be saving water?- LS
This is an opportunityto find out what my real hair color is- NL
Does loungewearinclude pajamas? – SC
No beige!- BD
What? You aren’t dressing for dinner? Please!- Katrina
I’m in a good placewith this. –CL
Me too! Or Gary mightleave me as he is tired of the same set three days in a row.- Sandy
Jackie, don’t rush theshower- you have all day tomorrow.- GB
I awoke anxious early thismorning. Anxiety tends to visit at themost vulnerable times, whispering messages of fear and doubt into my barelyawake ear. It seems to take turnsvisiting my husband and me. Yesterdaywas his day to panic. The above Facebookcomment thread was just what I needed to escape my “case of the nerves” as mySouthern grandmother used to say.
We, like most people in the world (over 30), are taking precautions to protect our selves and others from contracting this virus. We are practicing social distancing—a term I’d never heard before two weeks ago—honoring the six feet rule. For good measure I’m tacking on a few extra feet since I fall squarely into the “elderly” demographic designated as the high-risk group. (I’m in the process of designing a scarf out of a tape measure so I can be assured of the proper footage--just kidding)
So I’m taking to my laptop trying to make sense of the paradigm shift happening in our world. As I was writing this post I saw a huge white egret strutting down the sidewalk in front of my home. Last week as I walked around Lake Lilly I noticed the turtle population is proliferating. There must be a thousand turtles living in and sunning themselves on the banks of the Maitland lake.
Perhaps the wildlife population is reveling in this opportunity to be the boss of their environment without pesky humans interfering.
Maybe the environment ingeneral will benefit from the lack of vehicle, motorboat, and airplanetraffic. Maybe the ozone layer willcontinue to heal. I’ve been seeing morepeople outside walking and biking (keeping their distance). Since we can’t really multi-task, if wesurvive this virus we might be mentally and physically healthier.
At the risk of being calledPollyanna, I do believe it is imperative we seek to find the grace insituations even as dire as this one. Yes, I’m frantic about the economy. I worry about people who have no financial cushion on which to rely inthe absence of income. But we have beengiven a giant pause from our typical frenzied routines. How can we best use this metaphoricalcomma? Some thoughts…
--Don’t incessantly follow thenews. (Note to self)
--Wave hello to neighbors youhaven’t acknowledged since the last hurricane scare.
--Go to Publix, Costco, Target, or Fresh Market to take advantage of their designated senior hours. (Although I just returned from Target after spending an hour in line for what turned out to be 4 rolls of toilet paper. This visit occurred during their “senior” shopping hour in which I was by far the oldest person in line.)
--Work on your yoga, tai chi, orPilates practices. Youtube is chock fullof exercise videos.
--Meditate or practice breathingexercises. Even the apple watch comeswith a breathing app
--Play games, do jigsaw puzzles,crossword puzzles or other word games.
--The Atlantic Monthly publishedtheir streaming recommendations- https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2020/03/what-to-watch-during-social-distancing/608326/
--And it would not be Be Brave. Lose the Beige if I did notsuggest some kind of creative project. I’m breaking out my sewing machine to make quilt panels. Freesewing.org- https://freesewing.org/is offering patterns for sewing those elusive face masks. The CDC saysthey will do in a pinch but cautions these homemade masks are not consideredPPE (personal protective equipment.)
Teenagers have dubbed the COVID-19 virus the BoomerRemover. Hardly a comforting referencebut it did make me laugh. My daughter isterrified my generation is being Darwin-ized.
I actually hung up a few of our Starlight spheres on a tree in our front yard. These colorful balls are usually reserved for Christmas décor but I’m hoping their whimsy might make people smile. Just like Tom Bodett advertised for Motel Six, “We’ll keep the light on for you”. Especially during this dark time.
