Oh, I'll never forget 2020. Nor, as the children who missed so much school and socialization come of age and we see how damaged they are, will the rest of us. This will cast a long shadow.
Indeed it will. Despite how badly it was handled across the globe we dodged a real bullet there. Best case scenario we'll be a LOT better prepared the *next* time.... IF we learn from the experience of course!
I was very fortunate during the pandemic to not be terribly disrupted. I already worked from home and had done so since 2015. I was raised by a mother who lived through the Great Depression so being ridiculously stocked up on everything was always my m.o. We lived next to miles of trails so getting outside was easy. I enjoyed the world slowing down and staying in. It was definitely weird, but I remember how loud and numerous the birds were, how different nature became the minute people stayed inside. I found it fascinating on the one hand, and horrible on the other witnessing how truly horrible others had it. We donated money frequently. We bought from small businesses. We tipped service people really well. And we did worry what would happen if we caught Covid. But to be a child or teenager going through this was life altering. Being locked down with your abuser or dysfunctional family had to be like being in a prison with no escape. I work daily with faculty and college students. They’re not okay. They’re not snapping back to anything resembling normal. They’ve been traumatized whether through isolation, being blocked from social development and normal life rights of passage, or being stretched too thin caring for multiple generations and having to work full time from home with no down time from all the demands. Now they’re expected to slide back into a normal life, be productive, with no time to recover from what they’ve gone through. I don’t know what to do to help them other than to be kind and patient with them.
I was pretty lucky with the timing of the Pandemic. I only caught the edge of it just before I retired, so it didn't have a *huge* impact on that side of things. The lockdowns, likewise, didn't impact me hugely as I'm generally a 'loner' and am more than happy with my own company. I do know that several of my more gregarious friends really did struggle though!
To begin with the whole thing did feel SO surreal. It felt like living through the opening 15 minutes of an end of the world movie. It did seem, from new reports, that teens and 20 somethings suffered most psychologically for a host of reasons. Maybe it was their hyper-connected world or just lack of experience/support I don't know. But their psyches definitely took a BIG hit I think. How that will play out going forward... I'm not sure. I guess we'll see...
I think for me the worse part was not the lack of social contact but being prevented from seeing anyone IF I wanted to do so (if that makes sense). It wasn't not doing it, but not being ABLE to do it. I can definitely appreciate more how people go a bit crazy if they can't interact with others!
Yeah, that was weird. It wasn’t like I went out a lot of my own volition, other than hiking alone with my dog. M was always the social one dragging me out, but the notion that I couldn’t just go do what I wanted was an odd feeling. I saw how it affected M not to be able to be around other people. We had a number of Zoom cocktail hours with friends so she could have social connections. I don’t know how much it helped. What was weird for me was the disruption to my daily routine having M at home. I was used to working for a block of hours, breaking to walk the dog, then go back to work. M had trouble working from home and wanted to take more frequent breaks. We finally caught Covid four weeks ago. M got over it within a week. I’m still having coughing fits. It just doesn’t want to let me go. I hate to think how I would have reacted without all the vaccines and Paxlovid.
I was chatting a LOT to the guys during our online gaming sessions, plus you guys on Blogger but it's not the same as face to face interactions - even Zoomlike stuff. It's just nowhere near the same and we feel that. I think the unreality/zombie apocalypse type feeling of the early days will stay with me longest - LONG after the memory of the initial chaotic response and all the misinformation and protests fade. It was really like being INSIDE a movie plot.....
My gaming buddy who had Covid barely registered any symptoms. He felt a bit 'off', did a home test and it came up positive. So, a week off work until he tested negative - but he was OK health-wise (mostly). My other friend was quite ill for about a week. I did naturally wonder how her symptoms would have been if she hadn't been vaccinated. AFAIK I haven't picked it up (not that I've ever tested myself). But I also haven't had a cold in 3 YEARS, so... One of the perks of being retired and living alone! YEAH! I always hated having colds.....
7 comments:
Oh, I'll never forget 2020. Nor, as the children who missed so much school and socialization come of age and we see how damaged they are, will the rest of us. This will cast a long shadow.
Indeed it will. Despite how badly it was handled across the globe we dodged a real bullet there. Best case scenario we'll be a LOT better prepared the *next* time.... IF we learn from the experience of course!
I was very fortunate during the pandemic to not be terribly disrupted. I already worked from home and had done so since 2015. I was raised by a mother who lived through the Great Depression so being ridiculously stocked up on everything was always my m.o. We lived next to miles of trails so getting outside was easy. I enjoyed the world slowing down and staying in. It was definitely weird, but I remember how loud and numerous the birds were, how different nature became the minute people stayed inside. I found it fascinating on the one hand, and horrible on the other witnessing how truly horrible others had it. We donated money frequently. We bought from small businesses. We tipped service people really well. And we did worry what would happen if we caught Covid. But to be a child or teenager going through this was life altering. Being locked down with your abuser or dysfunctional family had to be like being in a prison with no escape. I work daily with faculty and college students. They’re not okay. They’re not snapping back to anything resembling normal. They’ve been traumatized whether through isolation, being blocked from social development and normal life rights of passage, or being stretched too thin caring for multiple generations and having to work full time from home with no down time from all the demands. Now they’re expected to slide back into a normal life, be productive, with no time to recover from what they’ve gone through. I don’t know what to do to help them other than to be kind and patient with them.
I was pretty lucky with the timing of the Pandemic. I only caught the edge of it just before I retired, so it didn't have a *huge* impact on that side of things. The lockdowns, likewise, didn't impact me hugely as I'm generally a 'loner' and am more than happy with my own company. I do know that several of my more gregarious friends really did struggle though!
To begin with the whole thing did feel SO surreal. It felt like living through the opening 15 minutes of an end of the world movie. It did seem, from new reports, that teens and 20 somethings suffered most psychologically for a host of reasons. Maybe it was their hyper-connected world or just lack of experience/support I don't know. But their psyches definitely took a BIG hit I think. How that will play out going forward... I'm not sure. I guess we'll see...
I think for me the worse part was not the lack of social contact but being prevented from seeing anyone IF I wanted to do so (if that makes sense). It wasn't not doing it, but not being ABLE to do it. I can definitely appreciate more how people go a bit crazy if they can't interact with others!
Yeah, that was weird. It wasn’t like I went out a lot of my own volition, other than hiking alone with my dog. M was always the social one dragging me out, but the notion that I couldn’t just go do what I wanted was an odd feeling. I saw how it affected M not to be able to be around other people. We had a number of Zoom cocktail hours with friends so she could have social connections. I don’t know how much it helped. What was weird for me was the disruption to my daily routine having M at home. I was used to working for a block of hours, breaking to walk the dog, then go back to work. M had trouble working from home and wanted to take more frequent breaks. We finally caught Covid four weeks ago. M got over it within a week. I’m still having coughing fits. It just doesn’t want to let me go. I hate to think how I would have reacted without all the vaccines and Paxlovid.
I was chatting a LOT to the guys during our online gaming sessions, plus you guys on Blogger but it's not the same as face to face interactions - even Zoomlike stuff. It's just nowhere near the same and we feel that. I think the unreality/zombie apocalypse type feeling of the early days will stay with me longest - LONG after the memory of the initial chaotic response and all the misinformation and protests fade. It was really like being INSIDE a movie plot.....
My gaming buddy who had Covid barely registered any symptoms. He felt a bit 'off', did a home test and it came up positive. So, a week off work until he tested negative - but he was OK health-wise (mostly). My other friend was quite ill for about a week. I did naturally wonder how her symptoms would have been if she hadn't been vaccinated. AFAIK I haven't picked it up (not that I've ever tested myself). But I also haven't had a cold in 3 YEARS, so... One of the perks of being retired and living alone! YEAH! I always hated having colds.....
Yeah, it was all very surreal.
Post a Comment