Groundhog Day

I am banging on a trail of ants on my desk with the bottom of an old Raid can.  I will not use Raid anymore now I know how toxic it is; however I do not like ants, so am using what I have.  The past year has been like that, not having good options, I do what I can to get by.

 The shut down due to COVID is going on 11 months.  11 months of remote work and remote school.  11 months of no restaurants, no gym, no sports, no seeing family, and not a lot of fun.

My family and I are lucky. Both my wife and I were able to continue at our jobs, and our immediate family have avoided this terrible disease.  We have been careful, and followed precautions, wearing masks, avoiding gatherings. We are physically safe, however the isolation has taken a toll both mentally and emotionally. 

At first, of course the shut down was confusing, apocalyptic and frightening. Ultimately our family created some routines to deal with the continual, repetitive sameness of day after day at home. 

February 2nd is Groundhog day. An old tradition where a groundhog acts as a weatherman to predict the end of winter.  Since the early 90’s Bill Murray movie of the same name, Groundhog day has come to mean the monotony and unpleasantness of reliving the same day over and over again.  That is what shelter at home has become, the same place, the same characters, over and over and over again.  Stress of the disease, concern for friends and family losing work, not to mention the chaos of the political climate creating an oppressive atmosphere.

Our family has come up with strategies, some have been successful, other not so much.  What has worked:

• Get outside

Run or walk, in the streets or on trails; getting outside expands my perspective and reminds me that the world is bigger than just me and my problems. Too cold to go outside; get ian outside feeling by opening windows, opening doors, bringing in plants and flowers.  

• Redecorate your space

Our family of 5 are on school and work  calls every day, and besides having to fight over bandwidth, we also fight over space! One daughter moved into our basement, another moved all the furniture in her bedroom to have a wide open space for cartwheels.  I had to redecorate too, I moved to our backhouse, a converted garage. Through craigslist, I furnished a desk and workstation. It is cold in the mornings! However, I enjoy my 20 step commute, and even my annoying co-worker, a fat pretentious squirrel. 

• Get moving

My son runs everyday and does soccer drills in local parks. One daughter does calisthenics. Family sing alongs and dance parties, anything to move and get our energy flowing.  

• Pick up a hobby

The concept of time has changed during this last year.  Looking back, I have a hard time differentiating the days as they all are Groundhog days, all the same.  And at the same time, each day I have a lot of time on my hands. I have taken up a lot of pastimes!  Photography, spray paint art, perfecting sourdough baking (of course), painting, reading and taking several online classes.  My kids have taken up piano, cooking Italian recipes, and way too many video games!  These hobbies have given us, in a small way, a purpose, something to work toward and become better at.  We also watched every movie from the Marvel universe, in chronological order. 20+ movies!  Not my favorite genre, however it was a needed break. 

• Be grateful

These are unbelievable times, a worldwide pandemic, and a severe economic catastrophe.    It helps me to recognize what I do have,  the health of my family, our mental health (so far!) and the hope that with vaccines, this virus can be under control, this year. 

At the end of the Groundhog day movie, Bill Murray’s character was able to break out of his loop. He used his knowledge of to improve the lives of the people around him.  What has been most helpful to me has been focusing on how I can support others, to make some else’s day a little better.  Everyday might be the same, however together, we can get through it. 

“Tough times never last, but tough people do.” —Robert H. Schuller