An Evolving Life. Home Alone.
Home Alone
As our daily lives twist and turn this week, each day brings a new normal and more adjustments—mostly to working from home for those of us fortunate enough to have that option.
Here’s my daughter, standing at my kitchen counter, working on her computer. When she found out that her company was directing all its employees to “WFH” two weeks ago, she decided to hop on a train (that wasn’t too contaminated yet) and work from Long Island where there is much more space than her studio apartment in Brooklyn.
Now that a week has passed and so many workplaces have shut down, it seems that one of the greatest challenges is to combat the isolation. As one who has worked from home for twenty years, the change is not so drastic. However there are several gathering places that I depend on each week for social contact that have all been suspended for now—including the health club and the life drawing salon at the Southampton Cultural Center.
So what can we do when we get tired of staring at the computer, sitting at our desks, or just reading on the couch? Where do we turn for human contact besides turning on the radio or television?
When I feel like talking to someone, I’ve been picking up the phone and calling my friends, even though some still just text back. I’m hoping that maybe their lives have slowed down enough to make some time to talk.
For me, hearing the unique cadence of someone’s voice or the particular timbre of his/her laugh has always been so much more satisfying than words and emojis on a tiny screen. I’ve also asked a neighbor to walk our dogs together even if we have to yell at one another from six feet away. But I haven’t heard from her yet.
Sadly, that’s all I’ve come up with so far. But it looks like there’s lots and lots of time to think about it. If you have any ideas, please let me know...
While visiting my grandson, who had been home from school for three days, he started to whine about not being allowed to bike over to a friend’s house.
What are we going to do?! he asked.
For now, we’re going to take care of each other and be grateful for all that we have, I said realizing how lucky I am although I’m worried about it too...
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Home Alone
An Evolving Life Series
2020 Posts
Home Alone (This one)
2019 Posts
Click here to follow Meryl’s journey through 2019.
2018 Posts
Learn more about how it all began! Click here to read An Evolving Life posts from 2018.
