Oh my… what a week it has been. Wait has it only been a week?? I don’t know, I have lost count. I say that facetiously but honestly I have to look at my calendar like 8 times a day because it feels like Groundhogs Day. As I sit here typing this, I am racking my brain if it is Tuesday or Wednesday.
When the onset of COVID-19 started in Arizona, I anticipated some coveted down time in what is typically our busiest months during our events season. I had elaborate plans in my head of all the things I would catch up on at work – the things I had been putting off, but out of shear boredom, would now have to conquer. That lasted about 24 hours…. As things escalated and our hospital incident command was activated my event planner role soon became the “whatever needs to get done, send it over” skill set. Which I love – do tasks now, emotions later. I find comfort in what I know and what I know is check lists, flow charts, spreadsheets. With each beginning and ending task, I found an ebb and flow of emotions.
At first it felt a little summer campy/spring breakish – eating crappy, yoga pants all day was acceptable and so was having a valid excuse to bail on plans or watch endless amounts of TV. Then as things took a turn and the reality of it all set in, there was a shift in emotions – this wasn’t a two week break from the norm, slowly going back to what we know – we were in this for the long haul. The tasks became more strategic, the deadlines more pressing and the directives less defined with every changing hour. It was a weird sense of controlled chaos. No one was in charge. You know how when you were little (or 34….) and you ask a real adult, like your parents or a leader, about something and they just have an authority of reassurance, whether they really know the answer or not? Yah, no one had that. Everyone is like ‘uh I thought YOU were going to tell me it’s all going to be ok??’. Unsettling….
It’s easy to get lost in the darkness – the hopelessly hopeful mindset that makes finding the light at the end of the tunnel a daily chore because frankly, we can’t see it yet. It’s easy to look at all that is going wrong, can still go wrong and feel like it’s all bad. And we 100% get permission to be scared and unsettled, there is no discounting that. If you remember in my last post, before I had any clue where this all would take us, I wrote about 9 things we should embrace about being grounded. Now a couple weeks in, if I take a minute to look at the good and take a break from the scary, this is what I have decided….
Here are my 9 favorite things that COVID-19 has given me so far:
- A renewed “like” of the outdoors- I won’t jump to love, as I am the first to say I am not an outdoorsy person – love me a patio cocktail but normally don’t opt to just be outside. But I have embraced the time I get to cruise on my bike, listen to a podcast while walking my neighborhood or just enjoying a book on my patio before bed. Maybe there is something about this outside business after all…
- Everything FaceTime and Zoom have to offer – Can’t get enough of my video chats, these are around to stay and I am here for it. The idea of not having to get dressed or leave your house, knowing we are all in the same boat and being able to endlessly chat without a deadline is a simple joy that makes people feel not so far away.
- General acceptance that no one is required to look good – this is a double edged sword because I am getting far too comfortable looking gross and actually seeing people, but also I like that we can all embrace, even for a limited time, the freedom to be us – except instagram influencers, they are still faking it.
- Solid, sing along, dance in your kitchen music- now this sounds silly but I am never a person that just sits and listen to music, it is always in conjunction with an activity – driving or working out, but I found a renewed love of just having music on and letting it bring the good vibes.
- Booze – let’s say what everyone is thinking. The lawlessness of the “sheltering in place” world means that chips and queso at 9 in the morning is appropriate, as well as happy hour starting at 9:01. Rediscovering a night cap (“night” being a relative term and “a” being a loose unit of measurement) has restored my love of a sipping drink.
- Carol Baskin – thank you Carol for taking one for the team and letting everyone blow up the internet with our mutual distaste for you and your meat grinding, tiger feeding tendencies. We are grateful for a tangible common enemy besides the corona virus.
- Memes – this one should be number one because the majority of them are far too relatable, which brings a needed unity amongst strangers and the other half are so damn heartwarming – the grandpa/granddaughter dance parties across the road to abide by social distancing, the cheers from the windows in the cities encouraging the healthcare workers leaving from their shift and my personal favorite, anything involving dogs being adorable.
- Not being alone – this is a weird one because I am alone. But knowing we are all fighting the same fight right now, makes it feel less scary. The checkins, the calls, the inane chatter and belly laughing – I have some pretty great humans in my corner and only become more grateful for them everyday of this.
- Human kindness – I give most humans the benefit of the doubt, sometimes to a fault. But when push comes to shove, my heart is never surprised but always completely overwhelmed with the kindness of humans, strangers even. One of my tasks for the hospital has been managing donations from local groups reaching out to help. When I started a week ago, they were trickling in – a local eatery here and there, someone looking to see if we needed bottled water or extra masks. In the last 7 days, I have been bombarded with churches, daycares, schools, individual families, local restaurants and community members just wanting to help. Recognizing what these medical professionals are sacrificing every single day they walk in those doors and wanting to be a part of supporting them, encouraging them and letting them know, we are in this together. Many don’t have a lot to give, they are struggling to keep their doors open but watching the abundance of kindness has blessed me for a lifetime. It is contagious. It makes me want to give an extra smile to the worker at the grocery store, stop for takeout (in a safe way!) to help out a local business and just in general consider others more than myself. So when we are looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, look for those people who are shining in the darkness as our guide.
Stay safe friends!
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