Expectations

One thing I've learned these past three months is how little we need to live, really.  Even happily, in some ways.

It's so ironic that when John retired on March 1st, our lives immediately went on hold. The door slammed shut on the freedom to travel and even the taken-for-granted things we were looking forward to, like spending more time with our family.

As for my old life, and what I miss, that's a very long list indeed. All the technology in the world can't replace social human interaction. Will the Ukes ever play together again? Will we ever go to the Symphony and see our friends? Have dinner parties and enjoy crowded family holidays?

Despite the anxiety, somehow, the days have slowly filled with new routines and habits. I still write the blog each morning, text and email with friends and family, make occasional phone calls. I do a half hour of exercises listening to my nostalgic gym playlist, then I take a two-mile solitary walk around the neighborhood. Most days, I try to practice my ukulele. For some reason, I don't want to draw. We buy things online, spend (too much) time on our computers, and occasionally go to the grocery store. We listen to music. We torment Siri when we get bored. We haven't put gas in the cars since February.

If the weather is nice, I spend long hours working in the garden, which has never looked better. We prepare meals together for the first time, and I try to plan dishes that require fancy knife skills. He chops/slices and I cook. It's companionable, although we trip over each other in the tiny kitchen. I'm still learning to share what was once exclusively my domain.

John is less restless and more easily content, filling his day with listening to music, reading, watching YouTube videos and tinkering with his knife sharpening hobby. Although I'm guessing, because he's usually downstairs and I'm upstairs during the day. We all need some privacy, and we're lucky to have a large enough house to stake out personal space. In the evening after dinner, we watch an hour or so of television. I still go to bed early and wake up early. Some things are hard to change.

In short, once you lower your expectations, it isn't a bad life at all. Do I want it to go on forever? No! But as long as we stay healthy, at least we still have a future to look forward to. 

Some good news: this is the first 24 hour period in over 2 months that no one has died from Covid in King County, which includes the large Seattle metropolitan area.  Our state government clamped down early and hard, and on the whole, people here have really joined together in the sacrifice. Compared to other parts of the country, the reopening in our western states will be painfully slow, but things are trending in the right direction. There's no end in sight yet, but a glimmer of hope on the horizon.