I hoped I would be writing about something else other than the pandemic but it turns out that pandemics are attention-consuming events. After various inspiring Zoom meetings with fellow readers and writers including all the microphone and video faux pas, here are some of my current thoughts.
What about Journaling?
Good old journaling will pull us away from the anxiety-provoking news streams documenting the distressing cult of American exceptionalism, the pursuit of individual rights over the collective and other global social and structural tragedies. Journalling may help us forget about the hair clipper incident. If you need a prompt for your own journal please see Lynda Barry for inspiration. And if you would like to make a comic strip from your digital photos, there is an app for that too.
Writing will help us remember what we did during the “Time of COVID” – a currently an overworked reference to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel. But while I was scrubbing the outdoor furniture, I listened to an excellent audio recording of the book which was much more enjoyable than the 2007 movie despite Javier Bardem (thud, th-thud goes my heart) playing Florentino.
Opportunity and Adversity
My experience of quarantine so far is that of the smug boomer. I have a house, a garden and a reasonable bank balance. The changing tides, sunrises and sunsets mark each day. I have slowed down enough to better appreciate the Bald Eagles and Great Blue Herons visiting the freshwater of the Baybrook stream at low tide; to enjoy the Rufous hummingbirds whirring about the feeder at dusk. I am content to watch more and wait more. I wonder about the re-framing of our priorities as we see each day what is really important – clean air, clean water, food, caring and a sense of purpose.
Any adversities I encounter are only inconveniences. Yes, there is the heartbreak of physical separation from far-flung but safe adult children and grandchildren – children who will only know a post-COVID life.
My fingers are remembering how to knit and if I keep my brain out of the process, there will be a sweater for the new baby. The transient but formative poverty of my student years and the inculcated habits of my parents mean I can cook, clean, mend, save, substitute and do without. That’s if I can remember where I put those rubber bands.
I am part of a considerate and careful community here in Comox feasibility of and compliance to physical distancing for most citizens has resulted in few infections or hospitalizations. My fears of being morally conscripted back into a necessity of intensive care medicine are fading.
I’m supporting my local bookstore Blue Heron Books, the food bank, my swimming club and the BC Liquor Board when I can. I am grateful for the frontline workers at COSTCO and Quality Foods who smile at me from behind plexiglass screens as I rub my hands with a wipe soaked in 1:10 bleach solution (Do Not Use Internally) before, during and after each excursion. It’s not much, but it is important.
And unlike other provinces, we get outside and can watching the Pacific North-West Spring unfold, indifferent to the global crisis. The daffodils, tulips, cherry blossoms, Dogwood, lilacs and even the Lily of the Valley that was transplanted from Vancouver last year have all appeared on schedule. So far, this spring is oblivious to the pandemic.
“It is spring again, The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” Rainer Maria Rilke
Some Science Stuff and Staying Safe
And now the challenge of self-regulation during the relaxation of some of the physical distancing guidelines. Should I really be starting to play tennis again? How severe will the second wave be? Erin Bromage, a comparative immunologist and professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts may help you understand the carnage of the disenfranchised employees of the meatpacking plants (sorry) and the generational genocide occurring in our elder-care system. The website will help you make informed decisions according to your particular situation that will protect you, your loved ones and those around you.
And if you have been confused by misleading or contradictory “facts”, please read just about anything written by Timothy Caulfield who is a Canada research chair in health law and policy at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. He doesn’t always sound this exasperated.
And self-care…
It is easy to slip into a mood where all I want to do is wallow in a crumb-filled bed munching on Triscuits and cheddar cheese cubes (and possibly slurping a tumbler of wine) while de-coding The Mirror and the Light. But my better days are when I have a little goal – something feasible and small like a walk, an hour of writing or perhaps even finishing that sleeve on the sweater before the baby outgrows it. Meanwhile, spring unfolds obliviously.