Boomer Parents, You Need To Take This Virus Seriously

Ok, Millennials take a breath, we will.

We are in scary times and we are all in this together. I am a Canadian but at this time I feel as one with Americans. The last time I felt this way was 9/11. It too was a scary time. We come together in times of stress and I hope we continue to remember how we feel once this pandemic is over.

I have made many new friends through Medium, mostly American and as you can imagine they are really no different from my friends up North. I have classes that I take on Zoom that @Shaunta Grimes offers and I enjoy trying to figure where the callers on Zoom are from, based on their accents.

So, what can we do?

Wash your hands

This is a pet peeve of mine. I have always been a hand washer. Trust me I am not a germaphobe but I always wash hands after going to the bathroom, before starting cooking or eating meals and upon getting up and going to bed. I do not use hand sanitizer unless I am out and I don’t have access to soap and water. Of course, I am washing my hands more than normal due to the virus but I still do not use hand sanitizer. Absolutely use hand sanitizer if no ability to wash hands with soap and hot water exist.

Hopefully, we can establish a good habit with the Happy Birthday song while washing our hands. My personal favorite is Marilyn Monroe’s version she sung to the president. Due to my self-isolating, nobody is subjected to my singing. Another benefit to self-isolating.

Be Neighborly

Sometimes in a crisis, we will hunker down and take care of those in our family that are close by. We do need to do this, but we also need to look after those around us. Now is the time to be the neighbors we want to have living next to us.

I realize how old I am when my son, that lives 35 minutes away, calls me on facetime to make sure both my husband and I are okay. He and his wife are working from home and have two preschoolers at home as well. He is not sure that I realize how significant this virus is. I am a health care professional that worked through SARS and numerous other public health scares. He told me he recently read an article in the New Yorker that discussed how boomers aren’t taking this virus seriously.

One of the benefits of this is that my other two millennial sons have been texting and phoning more often.

A lot of elderly people are self-isolating so as to protect themselves. This means no going out to get groceries, get medication or talk to anyone. My son says you can order groceries and have them delivered to your car, you pop the trunk, they put them in, close the trunk, and away you drive with no contact. Right. How many elderly seniors that live alone drive and/or use computers?

I have another solution. Use that thing that is never far from your hands and actually call your neighbor. You remember we used to talk on them. Some of the more senior neighbors may not use Instagram, Twitter, or texting, so call them.

Ask them if they need any groceries while you’re out. If you give them some time they could write out a list and probably give you the cash (gasp) to pick it up. You remember cash, right.

Would they like you to pick up their prescription? Does their dog need a walk or do they need you to pick up some cat food or kitty litter?

Does your dog need a walk? Just follow the rules and get outside on your own and walk the dog. You might meet people (6 feet away) and have a brief talk!

After I read the article in the New York Times I think Maria Shriver, who will turn sixty-five this year, has it right. “We don’t think we are immortal, but we have been through a lot,” Shriver said. “We are respecting the rules, doing our part, and trying to show our kids that they don’t have to be terrified. Life can go on. Yes, differently, but it can go on.”

Take Away

Maybe we can look at the positive side of this pandemic. I really don’t mean to downplay the seriousness of this virus and am taking care of my husband and myself but let’s learn something from it.

Find things to read that you want to know more about. Learn new things. Youtube is fabulous to learn things from.

Create

Nathan Barry and Barrett Brooks are the CEO and COO respectively from ConvertKit. They have started a Youtube half-hour talk that focuses on creating. They feel that in these uncertain times it’s easy to fall into the trap of refreshing stats and Twitter in an ever-increasing cycle of anxiety. Instead, they propose a different solution: focus on creating. It is easy to get lost in the anxiety of the times so start creating.

Let’s be kinder to one another. We are all going to be older one day (we hope). We can find something we have learned from this.

I want my son to realize that while I do take this pandemic seriously I also want him to know that I will not be intimidated by this. I have a slight cold and will continue to self-isolate for another week.

This morning I got a call from the Health Authority that I worked for asking if I would be prepared to come back to work if I was needed. I told them that if they needed me I would be prepared to come in if I was healthy when they called. They don’t need me at this point but will keep my name on file.

I have a small group of friends from my nursing school (back in the day when you were trained and lived beside the hospital). We are now all retired and meet every few months for lunch. Don’t worry we have canceled this last lunch we planned for St Patrick Day. My best friend, Connie, has suggested that for the current duration of this pandemic we do an electronic check-in each week. We can write short emails as to how we are doing to the group. It keeps us all connected. Perhaps that’s not a bad thing to carry on when this pandemic is over.

And that’s what it’s all about.