The days are beginning to drag on in this grand social distancing /stay at home experiment (or Physical Distancing as suggested by the World Health Organization) and it’s only been a week. I love my husband and my garden. I love the cats, my chickens, and even the freezer-destined lambs. But not socializing, no handshakes or hugs, not even being able to see and say “Hi” personally to friends? I’m not a fan.
While we all really live alone inside our own heads, we seem to be herd animals with a need for contact and community. And the cold void that is in the Internet somehow doesn’t always fill our needs.
So, I’ve been looking for solutions and found some that might just work to slow that need to reach out and (don’t say it!) touch someone.
Astronauts are possibly the people with the most experience at being truly isolated. I saw a story on Scott Kelly, a retired astronaut, with some gems for alleviating cabin fever. The italics are my comments to his ideas. And click on the link to read the entire article.
And from yet another source: Put your pants on every day. Or real clothes. Do not become a PJ person. Therein lies madness. Not really, or not sure. But getting dressed “up” means you are ready to go forth and do battle, whether it be staying at home or making a foraging trip to the store. It’s a good mental trick to stay positive and ready for the challenges of the day.
The real problem is I still haven’t found a way to get my “PC” (personal contact) time in, so the chickens and cats are going to have to get used to the occasional extended hug. Those darned lambs are too fast.
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Cyndy Green has been intrigued by news since she got a toy printing press as a six year old. She switched to visual story telling at the age of 12 with her first still camera and moved to broadcasting after an internship in 1974. After 28 years in broadcast news and another 8 teaching broadcasting, she still can’t live without a camera in hand and an editing computer nearby, so in retirement she continues creating visual stories.
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