Corona virus, Covid-19, & The Cabin

In Virginia, besides rain and more rain, residents have been urged to stay at home unless employed within specific categories of work. This week Governor Northam made "stay at home" a law. Fortunately construction is an exempted category so cabin construction should continue so long as the workers stay healthy and the rain eventually stops. 

That being said I am on Day 4 of Week 3 of "stay at home" social isolation. A friend was exposed to the virus. Since I had had face-to-face contact with her, my high-risk status went even higher. 

Time to re-think and re-group. My temporary house has no Internet or phone (text only). I could install it but that makes little financial sense for the short time (we hope!) that I will need temporary housing. I am also job and client searching, but it no longer felt safe use public spaces for my work. So, on March 13, the kids and I decided I should move to their house, at least during the week days. The granddaughter's college moved to online status, and then the high-school-aged granddaughter's school also closed until fall. So we are now three adults, one high-schooler, one college-aged teen, two dogs and five cats living in a three-bedroom house. 

As the Coronavirus numbers continue rise, chaos, uncertainty, change, and frustration come along for the ride. 

What to do? We can start by getting priorities back in order. They are three, maybe four--food, family, friends, and, maybe, fitness. We can take one step at  time; do the next thing. I know this. It's what the kids and I worked at last summer. But the article "Why You Should Ignore All That Coronavirus-Inspired Productivity Pressure" reminded me that the lessons learned when we began this journey need to be brought into this one as well (Article link:  https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-You-Should-Ignore-All-That/248366fbclid=IwAR1KTRLjV5uwtF3zlM9G0Cub49Ymf4zCdNIt11TsqYwd97J4KG1-eR1mdEM

Once food, family, friends, and fitness (I might add "shelter" to that list)  are cared for, we can start on Phase 2, mentally adjusting to the authentic now (not what we wish it is, not the alternate reality we pretend we are in). Accurately defining today takes time. Just when we think we have adjusted, something happens that forces us to define more clearly. Complicating the defining stage is that  information and understanding are evolving as science gathers more information.

I have been tempted to just go back to bed, binge read, put the sweat-equity projects toward to cabin build on hold for a spell. But I know better. That will only make matters worse.

Instead I am choosing active waiting--most of the time! Sometimes a nap, or an afternoon of reading is as much as I can manage. But most of the time, active waiting seems to help my brain and spirit catch up with the chaos. It allows time for the brain to process. I am not attempting to be super productive or to accomplish as much as I did before the Corona virus hit. But I am taking a couple online classes on topics of interest. Journaling, and harvesting the journal entries for themes and insight, also helps. Going outside to nature journal and sketch helps. Though these activities are a bit of a distraction, I know my brains accomplishes quite a bit when ignored for limited amounts of time through healthy diversions. It's like a pot simmering on the back of the stove. It's dropping watercolor onto paper and letting it tell you where it wants to go.

And the day-to-day, the next steps--those help, too.
Eventually, and I know this because I have experienced prior disasters (though none of this caliber), we will be able to appreciate, even embrace, the new. In the meantime, make time for quiet, indulge in minimal and healthy distractions, learn the lessons of the day, decide what ideas and things to take into the new, and let the mind regenerate. 


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