Keeping Grown-Ups Sane During Social Isolation

For those of us who have started to scratch the surface of our family trees and genetic histories, this is a great time to keep digging further.

I read an article recently about how you can use Youtube to search for significan't dates (historical in general, or important dates in your family ) to possibly find pictures of ancestors.

Personally, I've gotten stuck in a big way trying to find a method/model for charting the family tree, in a way that lets me show important info on each person (birth, date, marriage, place, moves -- and then add on childen and all that info on them, too, then add in in-law. etc.  If anyone's had any breakthroughs in that area, please share.

Now go wash your hands.   

Dumpster was just hauled away.  Of course after having it delivered two weeks ago we both got sick, so we didn’t get as much done as we had wanted.  We were able to fill it, but more with barn and yard crap, not as much stuff from the house as we had wanted.  Though we also did get about 1/5 of our storage unit cleared out.  Why I still had my 3 ring binder from high school, I’ll never know  . At our old house we had most of that crap in the basement and attic, so we weren’t paying to store it.  It sucks paying a monthly fee, but at the same time  paying monthly it does seem to have me a little more motivated to actually open up boxes and see what stupid things I’m holding onto

Oh, no!  I hope you are both feeling better.  These days I cringe whenever someone says they are not feeling well.

spontaneous said:

Dumpster was just hauled away.  Of course after having it delivered two weeks ago we both got sick.

We’re mostly better now.  And it wasn’t that bad overall.  But due to some people having milder symptoms and also due to where my husband works we did want him tested just so he wouldn’t be spreading it to co-workers or patients. Nope.  Didn’t have the “right” symptoms to be allowed a test. And our symptoms were mild enough that they could also possibly be very bad seasonal allergies, so staying home sick wasn’t an option either.  This country is so ******

We never had true difficulty breathing, just a tight feeling in the lungs, occasional cough.  I do get bronchitis every couple of years (though usually with very bad colds or flu, not by itself), so my PCP does have an inhaler on file for me.  I didn’t have to even make an appointment, I was able to call the office staff and they were able to look it up and then called it into our pharmacy 

Our local pharmacy is now doing curbside pick ups.  It is easiest if you pay with a credit card over the phone, but they said cash and checks can also be used at the time of pick up.  The town officially set aside an area for them to use for this purpose, so no need to worry about parking.  Since it was easier I just paid over the phone.  On the receipt where the cardholder’s signature usually goes they had written COVID 19

spontaneous said:

We never had true difficulty breathing, just a tight feeling in the lungs, occasional cough.  

 Another reason the delay in producing/acquiring lots of test kits is a big part of the problem. With those symptoms it would have been useful to test you both and find out if you were positive for the virus.  It might give you peace of mind to know you’d gotten through the infection, and also better understand how many people are getting the virus with mild symptoms.

joan_crystal said:

Oh, no!  I hope you are both feeling better.  These days I cringe whenever someone says they are not feeling well.

spontaneous said:

Dumpster was just hauled away.  Of course after having it delivered two weeks ago we both got sick.

 Sponty, do you now consider yourself immune to Covid19?

COVID-19 is not keeping any of sane.  Can we get back on topic?  What are you doing to keep sane despite COVID-19?  I keep getting links for virtual tours of national parks, museums, even the Bronx Botanical Gardens Orchid Show.  Lots of virtual concerts, performances, classes, story hours, and meetings.  Spring rake out is coming.  Neighbors are sewing masks for hospitals and the library is fabricating visors for face shields.  What are you doing?

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

joan_crystal said:

Oh, no!  I hope you are both feeling better.  These days I cringe whenever someone says they are not feeling well.

spontaneous said:

Dumpster was just hauled away.  Of course after having it delivered two weeks ago we both got sick.

 Sponty, do you now consider yourself immune to Covid19?

Since I have no idea of whether or not I actually had it I have no reason to assume I am immune 

spontaneous said:

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

joan_crystal said:

Oh, no!  I hope you are both feeling better.  These days I cringe whenever someone says they are not feeling well.

spontaneous said:

Dumpster was just hauled away.  Of course after having it delivered two weeks ago we both got sick.

 Sponty, do you now consider yourself immune to Covid19?

Since I have no idea of whether or not I actually had it I have no reason to assume I am immune 

Makes sense to me. 

I've been working from home and pretty busy so during the day, not that big a deal though I miss my work colleagues. (but don't miss the commute). I've been enjoying taking a long walk every couple of days after lunch - very helpful, especially on a beautiful day like today (can't wait to get out there!). Also I've started upping my game re clothes - not exactly putting on a business suit, but my "going out and running errands" clothes rather than sticking with the "working in my pajamas" routine. It's a surprising lift.

I'm missing my color & cut at the salon and the grey roots are bothering me - like a lot more than I want to totally admit. But I ordered a home hair dye kit - no idea how that's going to work out, but whatever there isn't a lot of risk as nobody's going to see me anyway.

I'm finding that anxiety / the blues are unevenly distributed - some days I feel fine and others it's really getting to me. Yesterday was a low spot but I opened up the thread here on "music that lifts you up" and it helped a lot. Even when the music wasn't the kind of thing I normally listen to, it was like listening in on somebody else's happiness. And also opening up my ears to something new is just great in general.

In the evening we watched a really funny comedy - "It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world" which is one of our family favorites. That also helped.

I've also discovered more goodies at the online library - e.g. magazines!! I am a total magazine junkie - and I find that magazine articles are a good length to keep my mind busy without a huge commitment of time.

Looking forward to getting some gardening done this weekend.

I'm finding that the biggest source of anxiety for me is food shopping and meal planning. This is usually something that I have totally nailed so the disarray in the shops, unpredictable unavailability of stuff, etc. is really really upsetting at a core level. Even though I have ideas, strategies, etc. to feed myself and my family there is a core anxiety that I can't shake. So for this one, I'd say - not staying sane.

joan_crystal said:

COVID-19 is not keeping any of sane.  Can we get back on topic?  What are you doing to keep sane despite COVID-19?  I keep getting links for virtual tours of national parks, museums, even the Bronx Botanical Gardens Orchid Show.  Lots of virtual concerts, performances, classes, story hours, and meetings.  Spring rake out is coming.  Neighbors are sewing masks for hospitals and the library is fabricating visors for face shields.  What are you doing?

Thanks for the thread drift check! It's hard to keep the multiple threads separate.

I am working on a couple of home projects. My "office" has been the room full of boxes left over from our 2013 move, and anything else we can't find a place for. I had about 25% of the room for a desk, file cabinet and printer. We've reclaimed about another 37% of the space. 

Our basement pantry is also shaping up and some of my time has been spent dealing with aftermath of a mouse invasion down there. The space was so packed I couldn't see the evidence.

We went to the park one sunny day and played Frisbee and Foxtail which my daughter loved. We also have been digging into the board and card games we haven't had time to try out. There's a fun one called Phase 10 from the makers of Uno.

Figuring out Zoom and Google hangouts has been a fun diversion for menas well.

Like Hatsoff I felt really low yesterday.   I had gone to the store for some fresh fruit and veg, but made the mistake of looking at the TP and cleaning products aisle.  I was so saddened by the empty shelves and worried for people who really needed those products, but couldn't get them.

Then I went for a walk and admired people's gardens.  A number of families are displaying their kids' art projects in the windows and on front doors.  That really cheered me up.  I also had a random conversation with another walker (don't worry 6+ feet apart).  It was good to feel that human connection.

My husband and I are slowly working through the backlog of shows on our DVR.  Ken Burns' Country Music series was great!

I'm also trying to read actual books to rest my eyes since I have to stare at the computer screen for work.  Yesterday I went for "comfort food" and revisited Jane Austen's Persuasion.  

MOL is also a source of comfort.  Knowing that you are all out there - complaining about our usual issues of bad parking and thoughtless drivers, as well as offering suggestions for music - it helps a lot.

Elizabeth