Staying Busy in the Time of Coronavirus

Heroes live amongst us. At hospitals, emergency services, grocery stores, trucking, meat-packing plants, farms, and the hosts of other occupations that until recently we have failed to recognize, these heroes have been more than busy. The rest of us who are not on the front lines have mostly been stuck at home.

John Milton wrote, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” I doubt he was talking about staying home during coronavirus, but who cares? The quote sounds appropriate to this time. And a lot of us are getting tired of “standing and waiting”, especially with masks on and at least six feet apart.

If we are honest we know that in comparison to the front-line heroes’ sacrifices, our small inconveniences are miniscule and petty. So, I offer some encouragement to those of you itching to get out and about but knowing it’s a bad idea to race to the nearest, newly-opened bar, restaurant, or other non-essential place where you can become part of the second wave of coronavirus.

There have been so many articles and stories written on how to amuse yourself at home, how to fix your own appliances or plumbing, how to cook gourmet dinners, clean your house like a professional, or preserve your home-grown produce I won’t add to them. Personally, I’ve seen so many ideas for these amusements I’ve had to pace myself. After all, I’m a retired senior.

As Al Pacino would, and did, say, In Scent of a Woman, “I’ve been around, you know.” At one time I cleaned my own home, including scrubbing the front steps and my kitchen on my hands and knees, baking bread and making homemade granola, cooking dinners, making jams and juice, as well as working at least 40 hours outside our home. Until we had the financial wherewithal to send shirts to the cleaners, I also ironed my spouse’s and sons’ shirts. Since then, I’ve endured a tiny bit of well-deserved complaint from my daughters-in-law for our sons’ lack of domestic experience. A true Wonder Woman would not try to do most everything herself but teach others how to do for themselves.

Now, my knees, hips, back, and the rest of me aren’t what they use to be. I try to walk a bit in the park every day. The rest of the time I sit and read, interspersing a project or a chore per day. Oh, and I also spend some time nearly every day seeing what necessities I might be able to order online. I found trail mix and cloth face masks online and ordered both. Though not the type of trail-mix my spouse prefers.

We have all gotten used to not just settling but being happy to find anything close to what we want in some categories: different cuts of meat, different types of household cleaners, as well as more expensive prices for ordinary things. I for one, can’t figure why the pandemic has caused toilet paper to be scarce and the price of body wash and contact lens cleaner to both increase by a factor of ten. But we celebrated my husband’s last shopping trip when he scored not just disinfecting wipes but Charmin toilet paper. Woohoo!

I also was successful in ordering gluten free bread mix, complete with yeast. Who knew celiac disease would turn out to be a blessing. Soon I will tell you about my baking project. For now, I hope you stay healthy and can continue to try to keep yourself and others safe by staying home and waiting awhile longer.