COVID-19: The good, the bad, and the ugly!
The good news is I finally balanced my checkbook, updated my address book, and made out my will.
My winter wardrobe has been pared down to 3 pairs of flannel pajamas and a pair of Uggs. Since I didn’t “meal plan” as much as paw through the cupboards and graze through the fridge, let me just say, pajamas do lie. Salvation Army and Goodwill got some good deals from me.
Some bad news: I didn’t need the snow shoes, flying saucer, snow pants, down jacket and boots I purchased last year when I was planning to act like a Finn this winter. I rarely left the house.
More bad news: Such a slump was I in that I actually needed to make a daily checklist to remind myself to take my meds, brush my teeth, stretch, eat three meals a day, drink more water and feed the dog,
And here’s the ugly! As the past year progressed, I became more and more agitated and disheartened by the level of political discourse that devolved from discussion and debate to diatribe and demonization.
My little house became an echo chamber of alarming news—for and against—every effort to learn about and control the transmission of a novel COVID-19. It was like, and unlike, the Spanish flu (that did not come from Spain). It was highly contagious and hard to contain. Healthy people were dying, as were the elderly and those with debilitating pre-conditions.
To me, this year was remarkable for the contrasts I saw among us—from hot meals donated to hospital workers, family squabbles over differing political views, and adults behaving so outlandishly bad in public they were given their own moniker of “Karen.” How embarrassing. I’m planning to stay home and keep my mouth shut…except for now.
This is Sharon Nicola, and that is my perspective.
