Good Morning!
Anyone who remembers the Citizen’s Band (CB) radio boom of the seventies…though our ranks grow thin like our hair, remembers the phrase “Homebound and Down”. Originally the phrase meant that a trucker was on the way home with the hammer down. Who’da thunk that the phrase would take on a whole new meaning during 2020?
We certainly are homebound. Tied to our residences like never before. I felt almost giddy today making the brave trip to Redbox to rent Knives Out . The unknown keeps us wary about even the simplest tasks and we pray that we won’t cough or sneeze lest we be socially ostracized.
The brave “save society and the world” mentality that kept us going for the first week or so has morphed into the dreary day to day search for things to do in the house. Cleaning (or all we want to do) is done, binge watching online British mysteries has grown stale and online shopping…well, when the economy fell off a cliff, so did the fun of spending.
We are down. Down in the dumps, depressed, desolate, socially starved, and bored, bored, bored.
What do we do? I can tell you that learning the harmonica is a really bad idea unless you live alone. Cheryl kept the six-foot social distance rule but was able to hit me with a broom. If you have a hobby you can enjoy in your home or yard...this is a good time to improve your solitaire skills or knit a whole new set of potholders for the kitchen. Those of us who love to read are delighted for three days then we long for the adventure of Wal-Mart or Best Buy. As you can guess, once I had plumbed the depths of Facebook, I landed on this.
I don’t consider myself a couch potato although I tend toward immobility. I am more of a recliner beehive. I may look like I am just sitting there, but inside, thoughts are buzzing in every direction. Snippets of songs, quotes from books or movies, puns that would horrify my friends if I ever uttered them aloud, ideas for writings, and things I should have said or done decades ago are all jumbled in an unceasing interior dialogue. (And yes, I talk to myself)
Learn to do something absolutely new. Before self-quarantine I was bored on a rainy day and bought an adult coloring book (no, not THAT adult) and colored pencils. I have never been even a sketcher but I enjoyed having something to do with my hands for almost three days. My artist son suggested I try watercolors. I was and am terrible, but have learned so much about art that my ham-fisted attempts are worth the effort.
Here’s my advice: Come on, you knew it was coming. Do something different and challenging. I almost said scary but not in the “ignore social distancing” vein. Any new victory feels good. In the words of Hawthorn, “Preach, write, act. Do anything save lie down and die.”
Be safe, Love one another but keep that distance.
Mike
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