Quarantine or Introvert Refuge

Published 5-1-2020

You can either curse being stuck at home or enjoy the solitude.

My Lion’s club meetings are canceled until further notice. We have put two projects planned on hold until next year. Gone are the commitments to help. Means more me time.

I miss not getting together with my friends, but it will be so much more appreciated when we resume life as normal. A lesson to never take precious friendships for granted.

Miss lunches out and shopping on a whim.

Grateful for the money I am saving each week.

No obligations equal zero interruptions that eat up half the day.

Love Costco but won’t waste valuable time lined up for hours, only to find they ran out of what is on my list. Don’t know why people need 513 rolls of toilet paper.

I contemplate alternatives.

What if I run out of TP?

Will search to find the elusive rolls at one or two stores. But won’t run to every store in a frantic frenzy. Which reminds me to pick up another gallon of my favorite laundry soap.

Next evaluated paper towels. Heavens, we have been wasting them for years. New plan put in place, use dish cloths to mop up water spills on the counter. Yippee saved money now and forever.

The introvert in me is okay with the isolation. Have hubby so I am not alone. My daughter is an extrovert and although she has others living with her, she is going “stir crazy” as she describes it.

My cat is happy with the extra attention. She has cancer so her life will soon end. Each moment with Molly is a blessing.

Met two ladies at UC Davis Medical Center. Their father was in the hospital as they waited across the street. The hospital only allowed their mother in for brief visits.

They were there to give support and stated, “it was nothing compared to families waiting patiently after relatives were sent to Auschwitz.” A powerful statement. For most of us, it’s only an inconvenience.

Grateful for freedom.

Lockdown conjures up memories of being grounded. Still had to attend school, so no rewards there.

Necessary trips to the grocery store and medical appointments are permitted now. But no play dates.

Not doomed to stay indoors, we can breathe in the hypnotic fresh spring air. Enjoy a kiss from a light breeze on our face. Be captivated by the flowers bursting through the earth, reminding us life still exists.

An opportunity to catch up on reading, taking courses, and grow my business. Plans are easier to figure out when you have fewer distractions.

This isolation has given me time to appreciate connections with people, even the brief ones.

Freedom presents a whole new magnitude of how we will perceive it in the future.

The pandemic will end; but let us never forget.