Time

"Days of social isolation have told us things about ourselves that we don’t want to know. Instead of using the time to read Tolstoy or listen to Beethoven, we watched a video of a cat sitting on a whoopee cushion."
Garrison Keillor

My sister and were talking about how easy it is to waste time, when you have too much on your hands.  The hours in the day remain the same, but why is the day suddenly so long?

And time at home doesn't translate into getting things getting done at home. What's the hurry? Why tackle that file cabinet or dirty laundry room when weeks and probably months of social isolation stretch into the future.

I've noticed as the days pass, the tendency is inertia.  Not making an effort to get showered and dressed, becoming a couch puddle dozing in the middle of the day, reading cheesy detective novels, listening to greatest hits of the 70's on your iPod, and thinking back on all the fun you had. 

Contemplating how fast our lives go by. Lumped into this "high risk group," endlessly hearing the rather patronizing view that when it comes to the elderly, we are all the same. Weak, frail, and ready to succumb at any moment.  One size fits all.  Maybe, maybe not.

Yes, I'm afraid too, and we have to be careful, but most of us will come through this just fine, thank you.

Instead of obsessing about mortality, others occupy their brains with healthier things, like sharpening knives and puzzles.
 :-)

Motivational coaches say that productivity is all about routine. And our daily routines have gone to hell in a hand-basket.

I sure miss my early morning gym. I never liked yoga, but try and do some stretches each morning.  Then I sit on my new cushion and pretend to meditate for 15 minutes. Then I walk around the neighborhood when it isn't raining (avoiding other people, of course) to get in my 7,000 steps a day.

For once, I feel lucky having garden chores. Many folks are stuck in apartments. Outdoor work is a distraction and the yard has never looked this good so early in the season, hardly a weed.

But here's the thing, other than some lazy plinking, I haven't practiced my ukulele. It seems sad playing without the Ukes but that's no excuse.  My drawing stuff is just sitting on my desk, I haven't even picked up a pencil.

Those things require mental focus, hard when you're just numb from the constant, background fear/anxiety.

Anyway, enough about me. We're all in the same boat.

More daily discipline. End of story.

And we can't wallow in Beethoven and Tolstoy all day.

Remember to smile now and then.