Walmart or Walden?
struggling with re-entry
How are you feeling about re-emerging into the real world after receiving the second vaccination?
I have mixed emotions and would like to start a conversation with you about this. Do we want to go back to our old routines?
First, it is liberating and fun to spend time with family and friends who, too, have been vaccinated. We were the first visitors my brother and sister-in-law had in their Florida home since March of 2020. This visit was an overdue joy.
I also have missed personal connections with people who have struggled physically and psychologically this year. I didn’t get to say one last goodbye to a decades-long friend who died recently.
But it dawned on me yesterday there are time-wasters I do not want to work back into my life. In the past week, we have been INSIDE a Costco and a Walmart store. One of us (me) is more interested in roaming all the aisles than the other (Richard).
And re-engaging with post-vaccination life meant we had spent the better part of three days in the past week driving. It felt familiar but not in a good way.
I don't want to go back to wasting time running unnecessary errands.
Of course, obviously, without a doubt, I wish we had not had to mourn the loss of loved ones who died of Covid.
My heart goes out to all who lost much this past year. I do not take our privilege of groceries delivered for granted.
Our pandemic isolation gave us the ability to reboot our lives.
We shut down like a computer with too many tabs and applications open. Our calendars became blank.
We discovered Zoom as a connector. At first, we struggled with turning on our microphones and camera, but we learned. We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas on Zoom. Big birthdays for both of us landed in 2020, and both were marked on Zoom.
I even carried on my Iowa Women's Potluck tradition over a Zoom call.
I'm now a part of three ongoing Zoom meetings. My Saturday morning call consists of super-smart people who zoom in from Iowa, Florida, and Washington, D.C. It's like having my own personal 'Meet the Press' show, and I'm one of the ten who loves to ask questions. It's an off-the-record affair started by an aging Iowa progressive I've known for years.
My other recurring call is with three women who have been touchstones in my life. We chat monthly. These conversations have empowered me in many ways, including coming up with the idea of holding a writers' retreat to be held in the Okoboji Lakes area in September and starting this Substack column. Oh, and reading more fiction. We zoom in from Des Moines, New York, Florida, and Maine. This is a happy consequence of pandemic life.
The third ongoing Zoom is with two couples with whom we have history and who we enticed to live in our Florida neighborhood once upon a time. Two of the three couples are now living elsewhere, but we stay in touch. We are a family of choice.
And, we have occasional FaceTime or cocktail hour Zooms with a few other good friends. It's a lot cheaper than hosting a dinner party, eh? You only have to tidy the part of the house visible via video.
We’ve followed grandson’s swimming success virtually. And watched videos of my sister’s granddaughter excelling in her gymnastics tournaments. We’ve been able to stoke relationships from afar, thanks to technology. I don’t want to lose this connectivity.
I also don't want to find I'm not watching a MasterClass or writing to you because I feel a need to drive to Costco for paper towels and come home with additional items like a season-long V-8 juice supply. We have to have a Costco hotdog if we are there. For Richard, the hotdog and buying khaki shorts and wine are the only reasons to go to Costco. We spend an hour and a half round trip driving to Costco to buy a hot dog for $1.50.
We haven't gone all Henry David Thoreau, the writer who spent two years, two months, and two days at Walden Pond in Concord, MA. But, like Thoreau, this past year has been a pause that has allowed me to appreciate a cooing dove I might not have noticed pre-quarantine because I was in the car to pick up something I don't need.
We all have the same amount of hours in a day, and time is our most precious asset. Are we spending it well?
What do you want more of in your life? What do you want less of?
My brother revived a long-dormant interest in pottery. I think of him every morning I reach for a cup. His wife, with his assistance, tends an amazing garden. They have had the time to nurture these projects due to Covid-isolation.
What are your thoughts about re-entering life? What will you keep?
Sorry, Costco. You didn’t make the diagram.
Related links:
Okoboji Writers’ Retreat (new speakers added - check it out!)
l♥️ this and agree. Before the pandemic, I ate out with friends 3-4 times a week! I loved to be social. My husband and I also spent inordinate amounts of time on the weekends running in and out of malls and stores. I don’t want to do that anymore — spend so much time shopping. Because I work remotely now, I’m not really into clothes, jewelry, and shoes and purses like I was. So much excess. I don’t plan to return to that. I don’t feel like there is much I need anymore, other than the necessities. I find myself wanting to share our wealth of things with others, rather than amass more things. What I enjoy most now is being at home with my husband or going to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park (where we are now). Watching the flowers and trees bloom, feeling the wind, reflecting on our blessings.
Lots of reflection time....having gone from the death of my husband in July 2019, the aftermath of all that entailed, a very rejuvenating two week Mexican vacation with my daughter and her family over that Christmas/New Years holiday, then the short two months when I was starting to feel normal again and Covid hit. It extended the grieving process but the isolation has also helped it in so many ways. Dana's summary is such a good one! I do know I will get to see my sister and Richard sometime SOON!