Personally, I Can’t Complain about the Lockdown

The answers to these 12 questions explain why

A couple of days ago, Selma tagged me to answer 12 questions Keno Ogbo came up with about the lockdown experience.

Sure, the pandemic and lockdown have given me at ton to think about and changed my routine. Also, like any normal human being, I’m deeply sad for those who are suffering directly and indirectly, and hope the aftermath will be less awful than anyone anticipates.

Yet I count myself among the citizens of the world who really can’t complain for themselves. I still have my job; I’m in good company here at home; I live in a nice town where I can go out for walks and runs; no one close to me has contracted COVID-19.

Here, then, is what lockdown has been like for one lucky woman.

1. What have you missed the most during lockdown?

I’ve missed visiting my son in NYC whenever I want to.

2. What’s the best thing about being in lockdown?

I’m pretty much on the same boat as Timothy Key, who wrote: “I guess if there is a bright spot it is that it really hasn’t had a significant acute financial impact on us.”

For my family, the lockdown has had no financial impact. I’m a public school teacher, a secure job if there ever was one.

Naturally, since I’m not in the classroom, it’s always a treat to get to go to the bathroom whenever I feel like it.

3. What has been the worst thing about being in lockdown?

I can’t think of anything that’s really bad for me.

One thing I don’t like is seeing so many yard signs that say “We support our health care workers”. I like the homemade signs from families, but I think it’s silly (a waste of money and resources) for organizations to order the fancy ones.

4. Who would you have liked to host in your home during the lockdown and why?

Any girlfriend from Venezuela who’d recently immigrated to the US. Due to the hardships Venezuelans have been facing for years now, she would’ve known how to do lockdown.

6. What did you eat (or drink) the most during the lockdown?

“Comfort food uncontested,” as Amy Marley put it in her loose poetic response to these questions. Comfort food includes grilled cheese and brownies.

In truth, I actually haven’t eaten these foods the most, but I’ve indulged ten times more than I normally would.

7. Apart from sleeping and working what activities did you undertake the most during the lockdown?

To quote Keno Ogbo, “Writing! especially since joining the ILLUMINATION publication on Medium.”

I’d say I’ve acquired a writing habit, or, more specifically, a Medium writing habit.

I’ve also been running a lot with my adult son with autism.

8. Will you come out of lockdown heavier or lighter?

A tad heavier.

9. What resource has helped you most during the lockdown?

I’ve had an insight similar to fellow writer Selma’s when she notes, “I love the workings of my mind that was borne of a small town and nurtured there as well. It has definitely helped me during this lockdown.”

I’ve also been reflecting on my roots a great deal. However, unlike Selma, I come from the big city of Caracas (Venezuela), which has seen much turmoil over the past quarter century.

I’ve experienced an attempted coup. My father was once hospitalized while serious riots were underway. I’ve seen just one product fill half the shelf space on a supermarket aisle because it’s all there is.

Over the years, I’ve often heard my friends and family talk about the hoops they must jump to fix their cars or have life-saving surgery. At present, gas is so scarce most people can only get it through the black market.

I communicate a lot with people in Venezuela and, unless I ask them about the situation, they never tell. They don’t complain. Most do the best they can and focus on the positive, wherever they can find it.

Given how bad it is for people I grew up with and closely relate to, I can’t whine or be a complainer. It would be disrespectful to all of them, and they’d probably lose respect for me.

Such thoughts have helped me during lockdown or whenever something seems unfair or very difficult. They help me snap out of it and focus on what I can do or change.

10. What is your top tip for other people in lockdown right now?

If, like me, you’re fortunate not to have been directly affected by COVID-19, and if the lockdown has given you extra time, set yourself challenges. Try to include in your day things you always said you wanted to do but didn’t have the time for (and don’t require leaving your house!).

If you are the leader-type, form a group where members take turns organizing interesting events on ZOOM or whatever. My friend Claudia organized such a group. We’ve had a drawing class, discussions about specific movies and books, cooking classes (gnocchi!), Zumba, yoga. It’s been fun and our friendships have deepened.

If you hate your job or don’t have one, ideally, as Henery X (long) put it, “Figure out what it is you’d love doing even if you weren’t paid a penny to do it, and then figure out how to make it make you more than a penny.”

Or just count your blessings, go for walks, watch good TV, read, clean out the closet, and call or Facetime people. That’s fine too!

11. How has lockdown changed you?

I am with Besom & Bletherskite, who wrote, “I am less keen on engaging with society and going out.”

I’ve been regularly interacting with just four people for so long that I fear people, in general, will annoy me!

12. If you were to leave a ‘message in a bottle’ for the future, what would you say?

The level of precaution you practice will respond to what the most concerned (paranoid?) member of your household feels comfortable with. Don’t fight it.

That, and as Chris Hedges warned, “Don’t ‘drink the bleach’ offered by any ‘cult leader.’”

13. One last question, where are you?

In Connecticut, U.S.A.

Not tagging anyone in particular. However, if the spirit moves you to ponder these questions and publish your answers, please do tag me. I’d love to read your answers.

Here’s the original article that started this chain: