Two and half months of lockdown may not seem very long, but given the emotional and social upheaval that I have experienced, it now feels like another lifetime.
In mid-March, the US was in the early phase of the pandemic. Some of the earliest restrictions prevented me from traveling to Pakistan for work to support an international exchange program. It was a disappointing development as I have fallen in love with Pakistan and its people. But, I still headed into my office every day, spent time with friends and my community functioned like it normally did. However, this was to change quickly.
On March 16, the almost seven million residents of my state embarked on their pandemic lockdown journey. On that day, Massachusetts had reached a total of 200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 but there were no deaths. On June 3, those numbers rose to 101,000 confirmed cases and over 7,000 deaths. Of the 50 US states, Massachusetts is still considered a “COVID-19 hotspot”. Our neighboring state, New York, has had numbers far more dire than ours and has made the news headlines many times. Despite those horrifying numbers, we now are finally starting to see a slowing of both cases and deaths.
On March 24, all “non-essential” businesses were ordered closed. Essential business included petrol pumps, grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and others for the purchase of necessary services and goods. Also closed were all public and private schools, from pre-school through college. It’s been three months since the lockdown. My wife and I have adjusted to working full-time from home and my children are also engaged with online learning instead of attending their school. Three months is not that long to me, a 49-year-old person. However, given the emotional and social upheaval that I’ve experienced during that time, it feels like I’m living through another lifetime.
Fortunately, we have all remained healthy, as have our families and friends. Although this new life involves many of the same things I enjoyed in my previous life, my relationship to them has been altered.
In the pre-COVID-19 world, my workplace was a break from home responsibilities, including parenting. Conversely, home was a place to distance myself from work for rest and rejuvenation. Now, my home is both the office and the escape. That often means moving to different parts of same room. For example, since I do not have an office in my house I sit in a comfortable chair in the living area with my phone, my work laptop, and documents while keeping coffee or tea at arm’s reach. Three meters away is my “escape” couch where I’ll “commute” to read my book, watch a video on my personal laptop or even take a nap.
However, my escape is often interrupted by my kids, They are ever-seeking an escape from their school work by wanting to know what I am doing or what I will allow them to do or eat. Even during the writing of this article, I’ve been distracted many times by my kids, ages 10 and 12. I also distract myself while looking out my window and remembering that one thing I wanted to do to improve my house or my yard. Inevitably, that turns into a half dozen tasks and planning a half a dozen new ones.
On the other hand, I am quite happy to spend this time with my family. When they spent their days in school and I at work, I missed my kids and wondered if they were happy because without being with them, you never really know.
Being isolated with my family away from society has been especially challenging
Being isolated with my family away from society has been especially challenging. Admittedly, I’ve broken the social distancing protocols many times with a small group of people in my extended family. My only sibling recently moved to my town and we haven’t lived in the same state for 25 years. So, our two families have seen each other every few days. The same is with my sister-in-law’s family that also lives in my town. These interactions only occur with the assurance that no one in any of the households either feels ill or uncomfortable. These have been some of the only moments during the pandemic that have felt like normal life.
Escaping from the pandemic has also taken the form of working outside in my yard, reading and exercising. All of these activities don’t require me to wear a mask or keep a distance from anyone. I’ve cut down dead trees, planted a garden and dug a pit for bonfires. Interestingly, my lockdown books have included several that take place in prisons. It’s not too hard to know why I might identify with those situations.
While I am thankful to continue working during the lockdown, I have felt very badly for the locally-owned businesses, and I have tried to support them in any way I can. Although I cannot afford to get take-away restaurant food very often, I have donated to a couple of charitable efforts to support local businesses. These include the local newspaper that provides crucial information during this isolation, and the local restaurant workers who have lost their jobs because of the lockdown.
You know who is actually probably happy about this pandemic? Wildlife. I have particularly taken great joy in watching numerous bird species visit our bird feeder. My wildlife experiences also include very close encounters with nesting owls, a hawk eating a freshly-caught duck “breakfast” in front of my house and locking eyes with a fox while I was exercising. Granted, I’m now spending a lot of time in or in sight of my yard so perhaps I’m now only witnessing what was going on all along while I was inside an office building. As I think about it more, perhaps wildlife isn’t so happy because all of us humans are home more?
My family and many others in our small town are fortunate to have lots of space to use outside. Normally, the weekends are busy times for trail hiking. But now, Monday or Tuesday has the same amount of foot traffic as a weekend with very nice weather. We don’t have biting bugs or humidity here, yet. Late spring and summer will bring plenty of both.
Just recently, Massachusetts has started to implement reopening measures to slowly restart the economy. My own workplace recently stated that I shouldn’t expect to turn to my office until late June. But, quarantine fatigue is real. The previous way I lived my public life, the “old normal”, is likely gone forever or until a vaccine is created and distributed. The “new abnormal”, as I call it, is likely to be here to stay. I’m sure it’ll seem normal. Eventually.
The writer lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA