Coronavirus teaches us the importance of appreciating each moment
We all have a lot of free time on our hands these days. We can’t go to a movie, a concert, the beach or the pool. Gas is cheap, but everything’s closed.
I live alone and I’m getting on my own nerves. Social distancing is getting the best of me.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given us all time to think about the issues of our time, along with the solutions and outlook for the future.
I’ve heard several times this week the coronavirus has forced the cancellation of Easter. We’ve become so obsessed with germs we’ve become immune to common sense.
There will be an Easter. And a Memorial Day. And Thanksgiving. And Christmas.
And there even will be an Arbor Day.
We’re tired of hearing about the coronavirus. We’re tired to reading numbers, hearing stories of quarantines, imagining real-life details of the dead and the constant barrage of daily briefings. They’re all necessary, of course. One of the best defenses is to stay informed. But it doesn’t make it any easier, especially when the “all-clear” is continually pushed deeper into the calendar.
I can’t wait to high-five, not elbow-bump, my friends. I need a hug.
I will be happy to return to a time when we don’t need a delivery service to bring us hamburgers, tacos and fish sticks. Krystal burgers were never meant to be chauffeured.
On the positive side, I’ve been spending a lot more time using FaceTime to talk to my 7-year-old grandson. He lost another tooth. He loves building “Star Wars” figures with LEGOS. Only now, I’ve taken the time to notice.
I’ve talked with my cousins whom I hadn’t heard from in years. I’ve stripped the sheets in my guest bedroom, although I haven’t had any guests there in more than a year. I’ve completed two Sudoku books. I even got around to changing the batteries in my smoke detectors.
If somebody doesn’t stop me, I may dust my furniture this weekend, and I may get around to changing the desk calendar at home. After all, it’s not 2018 anymore. Is it?
I accomplished some good deeds last weekend when I filled a box with canned goods and non-perishables and delivered them to the Green Cove Springs Police Department so they can replenish the shelves at the Food Pantry of Green Cove Springs.
I wrote a check to an incredible group of people in Ponte Vedra Beach who’ve cut, sewn and donated 750 cloth masks to the medical community throughout Northeast Florida during the past two weeks.
Another plus in this crisis is the lack of political ads, debates and finger-pointing. I’d rather binge-watch reruns of “Lavern and Shirley” than listen to another press conference with Chuck Schumer, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell and especially Nancy Pelosi.
I also must admit I’m somewhat mesmerized by the show “Swamp People.” I don’t know if it’s because it’s a natural calling since I was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, or I just like hearing a Cajun yell, “Choot! He a monster!”
Speaking of monsters, the world isn’t nearly close enough to ending to prompt me to watch “The View.” If I want to hear people yell and talk over each other, I’ll sit with parents in the stands at a Little League game.
Don’t tell the rest of my family, but I’ve learned to Google.
All this solitude gave me time to ask why all the gas stations in Green Cove Springs are charging from 20-to-50 cents a gallon higher than other gas stations in Clay County. Do residents there know I paid $1.48 a gallon last Sunday in Orange Park?
We all will be back to normal soon. Hopefully that doesn’t mean returning to schedule that doesn’t take the time to hear about your grandchild’s day in school or how much you appreciate your friends and family. And we’ve learned there’s a button on the remote to change the channel away from the noise of the day.
Let’s work together to get through this virus threat. But let’s not forget the important lessons we learned in the meantime.
get social