Lack of Connection—The Biggest Price of the Pandemic
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favorite new routine—Reading first thing in the morning with my coffee
One year ago today, we were starting the pandemic and I remember thinking oh, it will all be over by Easter. Our president said it. Then in May I thought, for sure maybe July? Dream on babycakes—See my post from one year ago today—When I heard Dr. Fauci say we will have a vaccine in a year and a half, I thought oh how can we wait that long? It seemed so very far away. The good thing about being 70 is that time passes quickly—ha! so here we are nine months later and I’ve had both the Moderna shots. Praise for the scientists at Moderna and Pfizer for coming to the rescue. Meanwhile cases kept rising and deaths from the corona virus in the US are at 548,000 today. This is close to the number of people who die from cancer in the US in a year.
I am hopeful.
It seems that things are loosening up in the good old United States. Restaurants and bars are open, kids are back to school. Cases are down and people are partying big time. The CDC warns that we are still risking super spreader events but the young-uns don’t care. They think Corona Phobia is for the old and the weak. The News shows college kids gathering over spring break in Florida and Texas, whooping it up big time—in-your-face. We are all so weary of this pandemic and the clamp it has put on our social life, not to mention the toll on our mental health. Brene Brown says, “We are hard-wired for connection.” No wonder the isolation of the pandemic is crippling to our “one wild and precious life”—Mary Oliver.
Brene Brown goes on to say that connection is what gives us purpose and meaning to our lives.
Without it there is suffering. Here’s a video I love with an excerpt from one of her talks on connection.
So this is the price we’ve paid to protect our health, a lack of connection. And along with that comes suffering. What cost has this had on our psyches? I hate that I can’t see faces when I go to the grocery store. I have this big toothy smile, I inherited from father and it is a trait of many of the Liautaud’s. When I cast a smile, there is no ambiguity. It flashes large and I have used it to great advantage when I go out and about. The responses give me energy and a sense of belonging. Connection. So how can this work now that I am wearing this smelly and dreaded mask? Can I squint my eyes as a substitute for a smile? Can I say HI in a super friendly way. These help but they are a sorry excuse for a heart-felt smile you can see. I will love it when we can go about without fear of someone spitting sickness on us. Every stranger is a looming monster. Been there done that. I want it to be over.
I am hopeful.
We are working towards a better more relieved United States. But still, it scares me when I hear that half of Italy is back in lockdown because of the variants. At this point only 3% of their population is vaccinated but one study shows.
CNN World News: “Meanwhile, the variant first reported in Brazil, known as P.1, may be up to 2.2 times more transmissible and could evade immunity from previous Covid-19 infection by up to 61%, according to a modeling study, released earlier this month by researchers in Brazil and the UK.”
At this date, the U.S. has 20% of the population vaccinated. So baby, I am banking on herd immunity. I love how Biden has gotten those vaccines out and that people actually want the vaccine. If there is a placebo effect, it is a big one. I just feel more protected having had the covid vaccine. I know there are health care workers and some who do not want to get vaccinated. I’m just hoping these numbers are small. Because the more shots in the arm, the more protection for all of us.
So what will I do differently next year than I have done this year?
Well, I hope to orchestrate some festive gatherings at the cabin. More campfires, more visits to my lake neighbors. Play pickleball again. I must admit that I am a little worried about sacrificing my new found work ethic for my social appetite. One advantage of this isolation is that I have worked a lot more than in years previous. I have been doing pomodoros to develop new products, tweak CityCreek.com for maximum efficiency, and learning how to do Facebook ads. I have brought some of the back burner projects to the forefront. I hope I will see the benefits of my hard work in the form of hard-earned cash. A few months ago I watched my nephew Jimmy John’s video with Theo and got psyched to make money. It was inspiring.
So I put together a twelve week plan
Biking at bredeson park
for success and have been chipping away at it. During this past year, I have also been learning graphic design with Adobe Creative Cloud, picked up the guitar again, and swirled water color paints on paper more often. I have taken long walks with Joe and now that the weather is warmer, added some bike rides to Bredeson Park. I just stopped by Free Wheel Bike on Penn Avenue and purchased my third seat Terry Butterfly Women’s Saddle, for my Trek bike and think it might be the ticket to save my butt.
So far, so good.
So how do I get back to a social life and still maintain the benefits I’ve gained from isolation? I know my body and soul needs both of these things. Maybe it is a matter of cutting out the episodes of Shark Tank, Jeopardy, and Netflix documentaries so I can do the creative stuff at night, like learning graphics, guitar, and painting.
Don’t hold me to it.
All I know is, I am eager for more connection. I can’t wait. There are so many people I love and have missed hanging out with in the past year. It’s gonna be different in 2021 and 2022.
