This is lovely. I think we need this yearly reminder--like Passover, like the Passion--to put ourselves back into those spaces and places, to re-embody the messy and the painful. This is memory as a blessing.
I don’t know if you have access to BritBox, but they made all three seasons of David Tennant/Michael Sheen’s “Staged” available. What a time capsule of all of this... relationships, Zoom, grief... The end of season 2 perfectly recaptures the weirdness of going “back” to a world that is changed and frightening and yet where one needed to be. Highly recommend
I feel like we are kind of still there, and yet not. So much of what you name remains only partially digested by only a portion of the population. So many different experiences and depths of grief, depending on how directly the virus, our collective (and not) responses, and the aftermath impacted our households. And while this is always true for catastrophic events, the expanse of a pandemic means that so many more people are caught up in the wtf-ness of it all.
And... while we struggled to find the tutorial for “expert” difficulty level we jumped to, this crazy old world kept turning, didn’t it? And the shit that would - pandemic or no- have hit the fan, did. And the magic of the turning seasons, conjured. And the desire to hold fast to the hard and beautiful reality that we are not alone, burned. And in some ridiculously obnoxiously imperfect human ways, we loved.
I’m ready for the difficulty level to crank back down for a minute, tbh.
Loved this post. What a weird review of photos taken during this early period. It looks idyllic - garden never more beautiful, never felt so fulfilled with cooking, baking and knitting, zoom tea parties with grands as well as online lectures, being productive at church meetings held on Zoom - we even started our church's Little Pantry during this time. As retirees, we had no responsibilities of employment or child rearing. We did not have anyone close that was ill or died. I loved having a reason to stay home. I even could connect with near by grandchild through a zoom mentoring project we did together with at risk elementary kids. I did not have the feeling I carry around all the time that there are so many things I should be doing. Why do I have to be ill or afraid of getting ill to own up to times of just wanting to drop out and enjoy my own garden and or non in person people activities. Others did all the work to help me stay virtually connected I realize. So I am in a different position from probably most of your readers. Am I really an introvert? Am I basically a selfish person who has to push myself all the time to overcome those tendencies? Did I learn anything from this? I will ponder .
Today is the 3 year anniversary of when CBS evacuated us all out of the building because of two confirmed cases among the 60 Minutes crew. At the time they told us they were going to disinfect all of the spaces and that we should be back in 2 days. I didn’t return to the office for almost a year and a half. Thank you for your incredibly thoughtful writing on this time of looking back. I found it really comforting, and have shared it with others.
You're so spot on about everything. I've been trying to remember - day by day - the beginning (the first meeting cancellation), the middle (the first vaccination and 2 weeks later when it was "probably" safe to go out), and now as masking requirements are beginning to be lifted. Through all that my husband was in the hospital twice (for unrelated lung problems), and I had a heart attack and was in the hospital for three days. I lost an unbelievable amount of ground with my personal training, but I also lost some weight. I'm beginning to get my strength back. We actually travelled on the train for two nights in a hotel, and dinner at Fogo de Ciao - instead of the cross country trips to meetings and visits to family. My sisters and I have a standing weekly Zoom call, and I've found I prefer Google Meet Bible study to in-person (my introversion is satisfied). I generally like You-Tube church services, and I love "real wine" and a lemon Oreo cookie for Communion. Safeway grocery pick-up is a boon. I'm settling in to a hybrid life, and it's not so bad. Masks when I'm in unfamiliar situations, trusting my neighbors and friends to stay home if they're sick.
There were two polar opposites for me, crying for the dead and dying and the challenge to be creative and find new ways of doing. And in the middle a wonderful coming together, virtually, of a beautiful community.
This is lovely. I think we need this yearly reminder--like Passover, like the Passion--to put ourselves back into those spaces and places, to re-embody the messy and the painful. This is memory as a blessing.
I don’t know if you have access to BritBox, but they made all three seasons of David Tennant/Michael Sheen’s “Staged” available. What a time capsule of all of this... relationships, Zoom, grief... The end of season 2 perfectly recaptures the weirdness of going “back” to a world that is changed and frightening and yet where one needed to be. Highly recommend
I feel like we are kind of still there, and yet not. So much of what you name remains only partially digested by only a portion of the population. So many different experiences and depths of grief, depending on how directly the virus, our collective (and not) responses, and the aftermath impacted our households. And while this is always true for catastrophic events, the expanse of a pandemic means that so many more people are caught up in the wtf-ness of it all.
And... while we struggled to find the tutorial for “expert” difficulty level we jumped to, this crazy old world kept turning, didn’t it? And the shit that would - pandemic or no- have hit the fan, did. And the magic of the turning seasons, conjured. And the desire to hold fast to the hard and beautiful reality that we are not alone, burned. And in some ridiculously obnoxiously imperfect human ways, we loved.
I’m ready for the difficulty level to crank back down for a minute, tbh.
Oh, and thank you for some space to ramble.
Loved this post. What a weird review of photos taken during this early period. It looks idyllic - garden never more beautiful, never felt so fulfilled with cooking, baking and knitting, zoom tea parties with grands as well as online lectures, being productive at church meetings held on Zoom - we even started our church's Little Pantry during this time. As retirees, we had no responsibilities of employment or child rearing. We did not have anyone close that was ill or died. I loved having a reason to stay home. I even could connect with near by grandchild through a zoom mentoring project we did together with at risk elementary kids. I did not have the feeling I carry around all the time that there are so many things I should be doing. Why do I have to be ill or afraid of getting ill to own up to times of just wanting to drop out and enjoy my own garden and or non in person people activities. Others did all the work to help me stay virtually connected I realize. So I am in a different position from probably most of your readers. Am I really an introvert? Am I basically a selfish person who has to push myself all the time to overcome those tendencies? Did I learn anything from this? I will ponder .
Today is the 3 year anniversary of when CBS evacuated us all out of the building because of two confirmed cases among the 60 Minutes crew. At the time they told us they were going to disinfect all of the spaces and that we should be back in 2 days. I didn’t return to the office for almost a year and a half. Thank you for your incredibly thoughtful writing on this time of looking back. I found it really comforting, and have shared it with others.
You're so spot on about everything. I've been trying to remember - day by day - the beginning (the first meeting cancellation), the middle (the first vaccination and 2 weeks later when it was "probably" safe to go out), and now as masking requirements are beginning to be lifted. Through all that my husband was in the hospital twice (for unrelated lung problems), and I had a heart attack and was in the hospital for three days. I lost an unbelievable amount of ground with my personal training, but I also lost some weight. I'm beginning to get my strength back. We actually travelled on the train for two nights in a hotel, and dinner at Fogo de Ciao - instead of the cross country trips to meetings and visits to family. My sisters and I have a standing weekly Zoom call, and I've found I prefer Google Meet Bible study to in-person (my introversion is satisfied). I generally like You-Tube church services, and I love "real wine" and a lemon Oreo cookie for Communion. Safeway grocery pick-up is a boon. I'm settling in to a hybrid life, and it's not so bad. Masks when I'm in unfamiliar situations, trusting my neighbors and friends to stay home if they're sick.
Loved this reflection!
There were two polar opposites for me, crying for the dead and dying and the challenge to be creative and find new ways of doing. And in the middle a wonderful coming together, virtually, of a beautiful community.