Covid-19 Support Community

[#1]

Seems to me that we could use a forum area where we can go to support each other during this global emergency. Possibly calm our fears and offer emotional support and share ideas on how we are each coping. If you choose to participate I can only hope that we will all refrain from sharing unfounded/unsupported information and even provide on-line resources/examples that have historically proven honest and sound... such as, for example, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) etc. Just thinking out loud here. I need to talk about this sometimes and talking with folks around the world who are "like minded" would be so very valuable. 

My current concern is the lack of physical connection to other humans. We are very social animals and when we are truly alone it is crucial that we recognize that the lack of physical contact can be detrimental to our mental and emotional health. This can compromise our physical health too. Oh dear; here I go finding something more to worry about...

[ElizabethRosenArt]

@SewNSewSister Amen to that- I wouldn't be surprised if this kind of a situation (and his response) is paving the way for that. I keep on using the word sane when talking about him in this insane time!

We are ok- about 2 hours away from the city in Woodstock. We were in Brooklyn still until a couple of weeks ago.

[vlmkpyae]

i missed the memo that we aren't to discuss politics. this whole crisis is political. all you have to do is pay attention to who is greedy and selfish and who are the adults with consciences that care about people and you will see just how divided things are. one of my friends has a banner. 'any functioning adult 2020', that she put on her forum last year. it kind of sums it up right there.  

[WarmWeenies]

What a great banner!

[vlmkpyae]

[WarmWeenies]

Like I said, I like that banner. Only one problem.. there are too many sheeple who think our current leader (I can't say, look at or type the name as it makes me feel icky) is actually a functioning, mature human being. I know, it's not just an appalling thought but it's true. I'm surrounded, in my community, by the deluded. Very sad.

[vlmkpyae]

warm, i hear you. just keep being a beacon of light and don't let them get to you. there are a lot of people freaking out right now. our job is to remind them that we will get through this crisis and life will return to normal if we don't panic.

i don't listen to the voice of darkness. i remind those freaking out about armageddon that we are not to know the day nor hour so nobody can say it will be next week at x time. live the best you can now and encourage those around you to do likewise. it is all we can do as finite beings, be here for each other. 

[designbcb]

isn't this the truth, though? i might be willing to lower the age of adulthood just to widen the field a little

[vlmkpyae]

she had made her own but that is one online and they have yard signs of those too.

[WarmWeenies]

Okay, so.. I've been looking at how this terrible situation affects me in a positive way (so far) and not necessarily in order of importance:

1. I have learned to conserve on toilet paper and have found I don't need to use as much as I used to. Saves money.
2. I have extra money in the bank I'm not used to having as I no longer eat out (one of my favorite things to do) or go shopping.
3. My grown children call me a LOT more often.
4. My school, friend and activity deprived bored 7 year old grandson calls to chat.
5. I am eating healthy because I am using my cooking skills and making things up as I go (it's fun).
6. I have lost about 2 lbs so far (which is a very good thing).
7. I am about to rediscover the knitting I put away years ago and will have some very nice socks again soon.
8. My credit line with the bank will actually get paid up. Don't need to use it now-a-days.
9. The half tank of gas in my car is still a half tank after two weeks.
10. I can have people 1/3 my age bring my groceries out to my car and I only have to be the one to lug it into my kitchen... so much easier.
11. I have an excuse to read David Copperfield, Hawaii, Richard Dawkins and all of Mark Twain etc. etc. again.
12. Watch as many YouTube archaeology, atheist & Alex Politzi (guilty, I know) videos as I want.

Now, I know that we cannot expect to ever get back to the old "normal". But if I survive this I expect to have developed new and better living habits that will benefit me and ultimately others too. Happy positive thinking.. at least until it gets much worse. Then I can rethink the rethinking.

[ElizabethRosenArt]

Great list! @WarmWeenies what's your first name? If it was out there earlier on, when we all still had names on the old forum I didn't register it. I'm Elizabeth. It has been good getting to know you! 

[WarmWeenies]

Hi Elizabeth,

I'm Susan. Almost a Sheila, but Mom's friend used that name first, so I'm just Susan.

[DoceVikaVintage]

Great list @WarmWeenies 

It looks like your life is pretty good during this pandemic quarantine...

Not many cons to add to a list, right?

I just started to make a list of my own in my mind right now... I will not be as long but it will be most good things too.

[designbcb]

i was affected by this thing more than i thought because I am pretty much quarantined anyway. It's just the two of us at home and we go out once a week for dinner and then to do the errands but I find it's not having option that drove me nuts. even if i didn't want to go anywhere, it was an option. but it is a learning experience.

[SewNSewSister]

Just about the time I get totally frustrated with my laptop or another telemarketer calls or the Spam notice pops up on my phone too many times a day I have to remind myself...just 10 years ago there were no computers or cell phones (among other things). We relied on landline phones, newspapers and the nightly news to keep us informed. As much as I may shake my head sometimes at the way things have technologically progressed (with some of the resulting frustrating probs that go with it) and the resulting of less in person people-to-people interactions I look also on the upside of it...boy things are sure easier and faster.

Without this technology (that sometimes drives me nuts) how would we know exactly how bad this virus is in a timely manner. Wait and read about it in the newspaper. Through word of mouth from our neighbors. Wait for that nightly news to spare 6 minutes on the subject. We would not know the extent of its' progression state to state. More importantly we would not know until possibly too late just how it is spread and how to protect ourselves.  

I guess my bottom line here is that we of the 'older' generation may not always approve of today's way of life with it's fast pace and 'complicated' technology...but I for one am now grateful we have it...and I'm gonna try and be more tolerant next time my laptop decides to have a mind of its own. Blessings.

[vlmkpyae]

mary, that is one of the reasons i have said this could be worse. in 1918 the flu pandemic was as bad as it was can be partly attributed to no universal ability to communicate faster than telegraph. we've been online since 2001 and i agree. not everywhere had high speed internet. this was part of what made katrina as bad in 2005 was the lack of wi fi and devices so it was slow hearing from people.

fortunately, as annoying as it is, we have instant connections to news, and medical and to each other. that is most definitely something to be grateful for indeed. we will get through this. we are all in this together. hugs.

[WarmWeenies]

In the 1917 - 19 flu pandemic we did not have the medical expertise to combat illnesses like we do today: No ventilators, no modern drugs, no vaccines, no antibiotics, no access to quick information etc. And the preventative (Nonpharmaceutical) measures that we implement today were not universally applied back then. I am glad for the better and faster information that we have access to now-a-days. It's getting people to comply with what small defense we have that is a glaring problem. Give the scientists time to create a vaccine and some effective meds for pete's sake, stay home people.

[susanstreasures]

Hello everyone, NJ chiming into your supportive conversations. My grandparents married in 1918. They snuck out of their houses, breaking the flu quarantine, to get married. Now I have a detox shed for packages. Staying home and nay walking the yard perimeter with our dog. Grandchildren in other states are being homeschooled and their parents work at home or work in necessary jobs outside of the home. Our oldest daughter works in her Brooklyn apartment. We fear most for her safety. My husband does the grocery shopping wearing a mask I made, gloves, and an extra layer of clothes. He will return shortly from shopping and remove clothing placing it in the washing machine and take a shower. This is a welcome gesture since he normally avoids a grocery store. We are careful to use food wisely, although some mistakes have been made. Morning the package of cooked chicken breasts left out of the downstairs refrigerator to make room for the extra guard of milk. Baking more from scratch. Sewing a quilt from my last year birthday jelly roll gift. Just keep moving and busy. As my husband says, “A moving target is harder to hit”, but we need to move from room to room and floor to floor. 

[WarmWeenies]

Hi Susanstreasures, A beautifully crafted response and positive addition to this thread. Thank you for sharing your experiences and thoughts. Love your charming shop too.

[SewNSewSister]

Welcome Susans. Thank you for joining us here. And your husband is right, 'A moving target is harder to hit'. I've been doing my sewing but including lots of deep deep cleaning in slo-mo for 2 weeks now to help pass the time and still feel productive. Blessings.

[WarmWeenies]

I don't know about others but my shop has been increasing in views and visits by hundreds of percentage points compared to last year since most (if not all) of us have been told to stay home. No sales, just tons of traffic. Oh wait, I had one sale last week.

[SewNSewSister]

@Warm. My shop also has increased in views/visits. Yesterday I had my first sale in 15 days! I'm used to at least 3-4 weekly. I think with all the unemployed now and money getting tighter we Sellers will be especially grateful for any sales that come our way in the near future. Blessings.

[WarmWeenies]

Hi Claudia,

Wow, what a beautiful shop... full of treasure. https://www.etsy.com/no-en/shop/DoceVikaVintage

You should know that life is not, nor nearly ever was, a bowl of cherries for me. I listed "positive" thoughts for these times as I am fighting against letting the overwhelming negatives take over my days. Being anxious, nervous and unhappy right now is counter productive and an unhealthy way of being, as I assume you know. Keeping our spirits up gives us a way to help combat our fears and any ill-health. That's the reason for a list of "positive" ideas in hopes that they help. If I list the bad then I do myself and everyone else a disservice. I would love to list all the angry and/or unhappy things I feel, but that lets me stew under a dark cloud that turns me into a Grumpy Old Lady. Then again; I will probably rant and rave, on a thread sometime soon, about my ignorant, law-breaking and careless neighbors. It's nuts around here. I look forward to your list.

[ElizabethRosenArt]

You are more successful than I Susan @WarmWeenies . I'm really having 9/11 flashbacks (we lived 10 blocks away and saw both planes hit). My poor city, friends and neighbors!! The 19 year old won't leave our place in Brooklyn, so my husband has gone back down to try to get him to come upstate to Woodstock. It's just so much safer here in the country, two hours away from the city! So... I may need to go back to the city :(:( Can't leave the kid alone. Who will remind him to wash his hands??

[vlmkpyae]

an online friend in texas reports that at least in her area the markets are getting restocked again, and the frenzy has dropped way down. 

[WarmWeenies]

I order groceries on-line and pick them up from the store without even getting out of the car. I could have them delivered, but that service costs more and doesn't protect me any more than having them put in my trunk for me. This also gets me out of the home and outside for a few minutes. When I get home I can get back on-line to view my receipt, rate the shopper and give a tip. It's marvelous.