Missing the Little Things

This blog is written by Lee Gale Gruen to help baby boomers, seniors, retirees, and those soon to retire find joy, excitement, and purpose in life after retirement. Her public lecture on this subject is titled: “Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement.” Her memoir, Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class, is available by clicking here Amazon.com. Click here for her website: LeeGaleGruen.com

Now, on to my blog:

There are so many things I miss in this time of lockdown over Covid 19 concerns. Being inside for hours and days at a time is getting old. Yes, we’re all getting crabby, irritable, and downright testy. We want to go out and about, further than permitted by walks or other means of bodily transportation (bicycles, skateboards, golf carts, or–yikes–cars) limited to minimal distances abutting our own abodes. We want to travel to distant lands, domestic or international, in the flesh, not as armchair adventurers. We want to connect with our loved ones in person, not virtually.

I miss hugging my son. Pre-coronavirus, he used to visit me each weekend for our alone time apart from his wife and children (my adorable grandchildren). Since the shelter-in-place order, we’d been limited to telephone and FaceTime connection. Interaction via technology is fine temporarily but doesn’t hack it in the long run. I miss hanging out with him in person.

“Maybe you could come over, and we’ll sit outside six feet or even ten feet apart and just chat.  We can wear masks, too.”

“Mom, I could be a carrier without even knowing it. I’d never forgive myself if I passed the virus onto you.”

Son finally hit upon an idea which we’ve tried out a few times with success. He sits outside on my patio next to my sliding glass doors. I sit in the house on the other side of said doors, and we’re able to look at each other. As the doors have to remain shut to act as a virus barrier, it cuts down on auditory communication. So, we talk to each other on our telephones in place of shouting. We press palms together with the glass in between, like an inmate and visitor in jail. Hey, at this stage, I’ll take whatever I can get. At least it’s great material for a blog.

I’ve been ordering my food from online delivery services, adhering to the entreaties of my son to stay home. Now, I salivate when I think of going to the market to purchase sustenance. What used to be a chore has turned into a coveted dream. I envy my friends who make forays to the grocery store.

I long to push a shopping cart down those interminable aisles; compare prices of different brands; and test the weight of two pieces of produce, one in each hand, pondering which is heaviest and the better deal if they are priced by the piece, bunch, package, carton…  I yearn to hunt for hidden dents in cans; inspect bananas for bruises; toss my own cloth bags onto the checkout conveyor belt to avoid bag charges and contribute to saving trees; and eye the cash register for inaccuracies.

Ah, the little things. How I miss them.

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Photo credit: brizzle born and bred on Visualhunt / CC BY-SA

Lockdown Fatique

This blog is written by Lee Gale Gruen to help baby boomers, seniors, retirees, and those soon to retire find joy, excitement, and purpose in life after retirement. Her public lecture on this subject is titled: “Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement.” Her memoir, Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class, is available by clicking here Amazon.com. Click here for her website: LeeGaleGruen.com

Now, on to my blog:

In this time of sequestering, some are bored and others are inventive.  I was out and about on my daily walk in my retirement community–masked and six feet apart from others, of course–and came upon some folks with innovative ideas of what to do during this strange time of social distancing, hyper-sanitizing, and lockdowns.

A woman was exercising to her reflection in the glass entry doors of a now closed meeting center.  What a neat way to stay in shape–fun, cheap, and creative.

I continued on and came upon a man practicing fly fishing on the lawn near a recreation area.  He was getting some sun, some exercise, and some practice for when he can return to his hobby.

Others cloister inside their homes, complaining to whomever will listen about their exasperation and bad fortune.  Yes, that’s one method of coping.  I’m guessing it’s the path those folks have taken for a long time, probably honed over decades.

To tell you the truth, the rest of us don’t want to hear it.  It is hard enough to remain upbeat and positive during these stressful times living in our strange new world alongside a raging coronavirus.  We’re all tired of sheltering in place, and it’s nerve-racking for everyone trying to figure out where the culprit is hiding, how to avoid it, and methods to slay it.  However, some of us are trying hard to keep going–trying to make the best of it and to survive.  Excessive bellyaching only pulls us down with you.

Find something that you can share with your community instead of wasting your time griping.  One friend is sewing masks which she gives away.  Another takes beautiful photographs of plants and animals around the neighborhood and emails them to everyone she knows.  Still another is taking food orders from those in her circle, ordering online for home delivery, and notifying everyone when to pick up their purchases from her garage.  I am organizing Zoom get-togethers and parties.

Zoom has become the go-to, online, meeting forum.  I bit the bullet, hunkered down in front of my computer, and read one tutorial after another to learn how to use it.  Then, I enlisted others in my sphere of friends and class members as practice partners to try it out and improve my skills.

I’ve been facilitating groups on Zoom to share stories, anecdotes, passages from books, and various topics of interest.  I’ve, also, been attending clubs and classes that formerly met in-person which are now meeting on Zoom.  If you’re not adept with the computer, then scout around and find someone who is so you can become a “guest” in their Zoom meeting rather than a “host” as I am.  You don’t even need a computer; you can participate in a Zoom meeting by just talking on your telephone.

One thing that might help to buoy your spirits is to really accept our current state but trust that it will end and we’ll get back to some sort of normal.  It may not be the normal we were used to just a few months ago, but probably a vaccine or treatment will be developed eventually or Covid 19 will play itself out with a reduced herd of susceptible victims, and we’ll be able to come out of hibernation.  In the meantime, figure out a way to adapt.  It can be done.

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Please forward my blog to anyone who might be interested and post it on your Facebook, Twitter and other social media. To reprint any material, contact me for permission at:  gowergulch@yahoo.com. If you want to be automatically notified when I post a new blog, click on the “Follow” button in the upper right corner of this page and fill in the information. To read my other blog posts, scroll down on this page or click on “Recent Posts” or “Archives” under the Follow button. To opt out of receiving this blog, contact me at the aforementioned email address, let me know, and I’ll remove you from the list.