It's an introvert's world right now.

[Rockabilly]

I just realized it is an introvert's world right now. We aren't concerned with social distancing. It's our thing. Wearing a mask? Well yes, we don't have to fake smile when we don't want to. Staying at home and reading a book? We'd rather do that than going out with the exception of the barn.We do love going to the barn where we can commune with our horses who are very real, but otherwise it's our world right now.

[Tanga]

I am totally with you. A lot of us didn't change a lot. The one thing I do have to change is that I usually smile to acknowledge people. Now I have to speak!

[Moutaineer]

True that, Rockabilly!

[Kyra's Mom]

I thoroughly enjoyed the stay at home...no appointments, grocery store only once/week (or less). Granted I didn't have to worry about income and thankfully, my hobby...the horse...allowed me to get out of the house and still maintain distance from everyone. I board at a low key pleasure barn and I don't think I have been closer than 12 ft to anyone...if I even see anyone.

I am OK with the masks. I am having some orthodontic work done and the orthodontist told me I would have some "little dots" of glue on several teeth to help the aligners do their job. Well apparently, they only have white, white glue to go on my far less than white teeth and the "little dots" are freaking bars...some are horizontal and some are vertical. Still better than old fashioned braces. And no problem...just put my mask on.

Susan

[silk]

I hear you! The only thing that got me about "iso" was the craziness at the supermarket... I normally love grocery shopping, but it was just insane. Semi normal now and people forget we were ever in lock down, social distancing out the window. Still, pretty sure we are better off than most of the world. At least we can (and essentially have) closed our borders so we're keeping the worst of it out of the country.

[blob]

social distancing has been really easy for me, in many ways it has been a relief. Obviously I don't like the reason we are having to distance, but I am not struggling with it like many are.

In fact, I have been thinking about how hard it will be for me to adjust back to normal social interactions when we finally get there. It has been so nice not to have to manage the fatigue of socializing and/or the guilt of not socializing.

[LeoApp]

Yeah, no problem for me. My life hasn't changed that much, thanks to being able to work from home. If I never see my co-workers again I wouldn't care. They were just people I worked with and not friends. I am still seeing my friends in safe ways and taking a riding lesson once/week. I have been hiking and walking and reading books. The thing I miss the most is the gym, but my Tues/Thurs body sculpting class has been meeting on Zoom for months so I get my fitness in. Yes it is an introvert's world for sure.

[Snork]

social distancing has been really easy for me, in many ways it has been a relief. Obviously I don't like the reason we are having to distance, but I am not struggling with it like many are.

In fact, I have been thinking about how hard it will be for me to adjust back to normal social interactions when we finally get there. It has been so nice not to have to manage the fatigue of socializing and/or the guilt of not socializing.

I could have written this. I don't like the reason why we are having to distance, but I love the effect. I feel a little guilty for feeling this way, but still, there it is. I am so much more relaxed and at peace since the mandatory bustle and mingle has been reduced to a faint chatter and I have a built-in, valid reason to turn down any and all social invitations.

Lots of bad things happened to many people because of the quarantine, of course, but in some ways it was also a bit of a crystal ball, letting you have a trial run of a potential future without committing to it. If X went way, would I miss it?

Looking back I see how the initial strict lockdown which closed down the girls gym was almost a relief for my oldest. Sure, being a tweenie, she missed her friends but she had not been enjoying practices for a while and the quarantine gave her a chance to quit without really quitting. She was much happier almost immediately, and never even participated in the gym's zoom training. I don't know if she would have quit on her own because she's been so involved in the sport since she was little and would have been hesitant to give up the only world she knows, but quarantine gave her a chance to try out something different for size, and, predictably, when she did have to make the choice to come back or not, she chose switching sports instead. She is very happy now although she misses her friends.

The beginning of the quarantine when the gym was closed was very difficult for my youngest. She LOVES her sport. During the strict lockdown she worked out 3h daily over zoom but it was a bit like riding the Walmart horse when you can't get to the barn - not really the same at all. She missed the coach and she missed the feeling of flight so much there were many evenings she fell asleep crying. It was hard.

Thankfully, the younger one has been able to resume practice at the gym, although with severe social distancing precautions, and the older one's dance team has commenced, giving her the much desired social outlet. Now, if only I could figure out this homeschooling stuff to a standard I'm comfortable with, I could live like this forever.

[piedmontfields]

Certainly working remotely has not been that bad from my perspective as an introvert. Still, it surprised me that I could embrace this arrangement, as I have often used work for connection time. I have lot more meetings and I work longer hours---but my meetings are shorter and I am more in control of my work socializing. I am lucky to live in the middle of 20 acres with a lovely partner. It often feels like we work in the middle of a private park that is "thought adjacent" to our colleagues in urban Europe and E Asia.

That said, this is also an opportunity to pay more attention to things that matter. I find that I am much more able and willing to spend real time with my colleagues and friends around the world since I am not commuting (solves the time difference challenge).

I do not have children, but if I did I would be thinking about this time as a very creative moment---where learning, art and exploration could occur, and the fact is that everyone around the world is a bit disrupted. It is clearly a moment to let go of typical timelines and schedules. And I would probably prefer not to fully outsource that learning, even though we could.

I will add that I am truly grateful for the gentle therapy that my horse provides ("slow down, pay attention, feel what you feel").

[Moutaineer]

Most of us in this group are pretty fortunate in our living and working arrangements. In my case, I can go outside and work in my garden, ride my horses, connect with friends, family and colleagues via the internet and I can still earn my living. I can do most of my grocery shopping curbside or at our little local store, or I can still afford to go to Whole Foods whoch is practically deserted.

It's great, I have an excuse not to do anything I dont really want to do, the weather has been amazing, I like my husband, and we have enough space to get away from each other.

But I have to remember that not everyone is so lucky, and that desperate, lonely times are befalling a lot of people.

[heddylamar]

I worked from home pre-pandemic (100%), as did spouse (remote often, not 100%), so it hasn't been a huge change for either of us. He still has face-to-face meetings (now video) and conference calls with a ton of people, daily. And, I still rarely meet in person (video) with any of my clients. We both require high speed internet — which we have — and we're set.

My bigger challenge is having him home all the time now And meals. Dude isn't able to process throwing together lunch for himself ... so, either I do it ( ) or I provide ready-to-eat meals. The later bother me to no end — packaging waste, etc — but, the ability to point out "lunch is there" has kept him alive since February

[piedmontfields]

Very true that desperate and lonely times are intensifying for so many people. And those lucky enough to be able to weather this situation will also feel it in time, as suffering, homelessness and infection rage throughout the country.

On a lighter note, I laughed at heddy's "ready to eat" lunch strategy! I have been cooking an awful lot lately (my DH is also a good cook and we usually share the work), but that is in part because he is gardener extraordinaire and comes back from the garden with so much produce that I'd better do my part.

[SnowHorse]

I don't mind the introvert's world at all - it's like tailor made for me

The biggest change is that instead of being gone at least two days a week for work, my husband is now mostly at home; he only goes somewhere if it's absolutely necessary. So yeah, more cooking, definitely. I don't cook for myself, it's too much trouble and waste of time, but if he's here, he's gotta eat...LOL
Luckily, he just bought one of those Blackstone griddles, and he LOVES cooking on it, so my job is to figure out what we're gonna eat, get the ingredients ready, and point him at the griddle.

I used to get groceries once every 8-10 days, but now it's more like once every 14-16 days. It's great, as I hate grocery shopping
Still have to get feed for the ponies every week, though

Outside of that, it's the same ol' same ol'. We don't socialize as our families live either on the other side of the country or the other side of the world, so it's video calls at best.

Oh, and masks - love them! I got one with "Awesome ponies" from Zazzle for myself, and one for hubby with a silhouette pic of him and his horse (both from my own pics/ designs), and I decorated a plain black one with some little flowers using acrylic paint, so I can pick one that fits my mood. Of course, we have the disposable ones, as well.