It’s amazing how alone and isolated one can feel when there are so many others all over the world in the exact same Covid-induced quarantined state.
Since March of last year, my partner and I have been mostly in our apartment. Our outdoor trips out have been limited. We go for individual grocery runs, mostly him since he has a car.
For a few weeks in October, I worked in an office a few days a week. My partner and I went outside for walks, but that was typically at night when there are less people. But that was before the new curfew set in place a couple of weeks ago.
We’ve both been lucky. We haven’t lost anyone during this trying time. I know many have not been so lucky. Saying “condolences” is all I can really do, but for those mourning or struggling through this time, it’s not nearly enough to make it easier or hurt less. To those going through that, you’re in my thoughts.
Since this began, exploring hobbies has taken on a greater part of my day. I’ve played with learning French, trying to double-down on my Dutch, gaming again, etc. It helps to mark time and feels like I’m achieving something. I also might be going deeper down the “Crazy Cat Lady” rabbit hole, but that’s for another day.
One element that has been persistent is the altered sense of time. What felt like months ago was only last week, and vice versa. The emotional cost has not been negligible. Depression, anxiety, etc. have been frequent companions on this trip, perhaps to make up for the lack of my seeing my real ones.
To help sort this out, or, at the very least, make it more interesting, is considering this time as something like the boat ride in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (I’m a Gene Wilder fan).
![| think 2020 is the historical equivalent of the tunnel boat scene in Willy Wonka [SCREAMING] Willy Wonka Text Organism Adaptation Friendship](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/816/782/242.jpg)
That meme just about sums it up. Now that 2020 is over, along with the height of political craziness (fingers crossed), and a vaccine is in sight, maybe once we have cleared this tunnel, we can go back to Fizzy Lifting Drinks, chucking rotten golden eggs, and laughing at people who don’t know how to stop before they become blueberries.