Effects of COVID

DW and I haven't talked about our autumn vacation plans in more than a month. We've even stopped our German lessons.

We're still hopeful that we can make it over to Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany. After all, we don't leave until mid-September. But as health officials give us grim numbers with the COVID-19 pandemic and the government continues to enforce strict travel measures that they say may go on for months, our hope is waning.

Financially, it's no big deal. All of our hotel reservations were made with free cancellation, if cancelled within 48 hours of arrival. And while we didn't purchase cancellation insurance on our plane tickets, we're hopeful that if our government says we can't go, the airlines might let us postpone our departure. Even if they don't, we were able to get our tickets for about $650, each, and though it would sting to walk away from them, it wouldn't be devastating.

When our city shut down public venues, such as libraries, recreation centres, and theatres, on March 13, DW and I had concert tickets for that very night. The artists, Sarah Slean and Hawksley Workman, were just arriving in Ottawa when they were told to turn around. We've been told that the concert will be rescheduled as soon as it's safely possible, and that our tickets will still be valid, but I still felt for Sarah and Hawksley, whose tour was suddenly cut short and were put out of work.

Sarah Slean will be putting on a show, from her home, on Sunday, April 19. If you want to hear her beautiful music and support this fabulous artist, you can buy your tickets here. I don't know if DW plans to join me, but I bought her a ticket, too.

DW and I try to pick a time for our daily walks when there will be few people who are doing the same thing, but it's getting harder. Lots of neighbours are also wanting to get out of their homes, too, and we're finding some sidewalks are becoming crowded. We cross the street when we can, or step out onto the road.

Lineups are becoming the norm at grocery stores, as staff try to limit the number of people inside. But not everybody, once inside, take measures to maintain a minimum two-metre space. Some even seem to disregard the one-way signs down aisles, meant to keep people apart.

Last week, when I made a run to the LCBO, three guys (who I'm hoping live together) blocked one aisle while they chatted; another guy, even though hand sanitizer is sprayed on your hands as you enter, handled a lot of bottles and cans without adding them to his cart. Even one staff member, in his efforts to guide me to the Cointreau, kept getting too close to me.

When I shop, I wear disposable gloves. I don't touch anything unless I plan to buy it. I have a bandanna and I've started wearing my safety glasses. Soon, I just won't bother going to stores.

As I wrap up my fourth week at staying home, I find that my mood has turned. Ennui is starting to set in. By mid-afternoon, I crave naps. I'm set up to work from home in my basement, which has two small windows that don't let in much light. And as I spend more and more time in this dungeon, my motivation to leave this space dwindles. One day, last week, I went downstairs to start my workday. When I was done for the day, I stayed at the desk: I wrote four blog posts. I edited photos. I edited a video that I had been putting off for a couple of weeks.

By the time I came upstairs, it was after midnight. With the exception of a couple of bathroom breaks and grabbing something to eat for lunch (I skipped dinner), I had stayed in the basement for almost 17 hours.

DW now calls me "Mole-Man."

This time of self-isolation is becoming tough but I tell myself that it's worth it. We all need to do our part in stopping COVID-19 in its tracks. And though it isn't easy, we all must do our part.

After all, I want to see Sarah Slean and Hawksley Workman perform together. I want to be up close, second row, centre.

And I want DW and myself to fulfill our European adventure in the fall. We've already made many plans over the first couple of months of 2020. I want to get back to adding to those plans.

How are you coping? Leave a comment.