Covid Journal, Day 100: Assessment

63 this morning, and the promise of a sunny day came true. Still humid, but breezy and below 80 all day.

So, we've reached 100 days of stay-at-home. Since the beginning of this strange time:

• I've been in 3 stores, or 5 if you count the antique malls. 
• We've had 3 visits from friends and family, all outside and at a safe distance. 
• We haven't eaten out, except for picnics we pack and eat at outside picnic areas where there are no other people. 
• We've found that wine is cheaper online, and so is ground beef and some other foods, and all delivered to our box on the hill, a real convenience. 
• We've saved money overall, had surprisingly good sales at our booths. 
• I've learned to Zoom and Skype. 
• We've caught up on a lot of projects and have plenty more. 
• We've cleaned out two outbuildings and organized the workroom. 
• I cook--a lot--and don't mind; in fact, I've enjoyed it and am glad to be using up some of our stockpile of frozen and canned food. 
• I bake more often too, and have gotten back to making all our bread. 
• Larry got out the charcoal grill and is cooking on it regularly; we hadn't used it in three years. 
• We spend more time than we've ever spent puttering in our gardens and it shows. 
• I grew my own veggie plants, and for the first time in 40 years I planted flower seeds directly in the ground. There was never enough time to do this after I started work and after retiring I didn't get around to it either. The seeds have all germinated and are doing well so far, and will give us color in July and August when our flowerbeds usually play out. 
• I planted a new herb garden. 
• I've talked with my siblings every Friday, more than I've done since I got married at 17. 
• I've been working through a lot of inventory, sorting what to keep and taking some of it to another re-seller or to the Goodwill. I've found a lot of nice things I'd forgotten we had. 
• Our van is getting a lot less use, a good thing since it's over 250,000 miles on it now. 
• We spend less on gas, nothing on eating out. 
• We got some meat chickens to raise, and decided to build a turkey house and raise turkeys again next year. 
• I've read novels! Never had time for them for years, except for listening to them on CDs during my commute to work.

All good things, right? But surely there are some downsides? Well, yes.

• I miss my sons and grandchildren. Spring and summer are our usual get-together times since we're so spread out, so we missed those cherished face-to-face meetings. 
• We also missed three graduations. 
• I miss my friends; again, spring and summer are the times I usually see them at fairs, festivals and storytelling events. Everything was canceled. 
• I miss browsing in junk shops and finding new things to sell. 
• I miss traveling and seeing new places. 
• I miss storytelling, and the faces of audiences who go into the stories with me--and I miss the many librarians who hire me in the summer and have become good friends. 
• I had a few health issues which were tricky to deal with but worked out fine with the innovative ways medical staff implemented to still provide service.

When and if life gets back to normal, many of the good things will remain as part of our lifestyle, because we have really enjoyed the changes. And we will be doing a lot of visiting! Overall, the pandemic provided a time to re-assess our lives, to step back and look at what we were doing, and giving us an opportunity to make changes for the better.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.