SOMEHOW COPING
It’s already a Tuesday past the middle of November. Thanksgiving is next week but the iron candle Christmas tree sits three feet above one end of the kitchen island since Friday when the kids arrived. It is adorned with a faux pine garland, red and white fairy lights, and some of the ornaments we have collected over the years. The glass candleholders I have not placed in the branch-like iron holders as I am not certain that I want them displayed alongside the fairy lights with the tealight candles burning inside.
The most challenging year for all of humankind is nearing its end, yet the challenges remain. Many have died all over the world. Those of us who are still alive feel as though we are in a sort of prison. Locked away in our homes for fear of something as simple as someone breathing on us. Isolated from the world except for the occasional trip to buy the necessities. Isolated from each other, where even the most welcome of interactions, such as a hug or a handshake, invokes a state of fear.
Life as we have known it has come to a standstill for months with some areas of the world, like the whole of Europe, already into their second period of lockdown and quite possibly a third come the start of the new year. The Coronavirus pandemic has shifted the way we do everything. From schooling to work to everyday interactions. Life no longer resembles anything familiar from the past. It has been capsized as a ship in a tumultuous storm with the end far from sight.
Nothing will ever be the same after this has finally reached its end. I am certain we wonder how each of us will emerge from this period of isolation and devastation. The mental impact of such isolation already shows amongst the most stable of individuals as this all takes a toll on our coping mechanisms.
Nobody dared believe that this would last as long as it did. Denial prevailed as did revolt against the recommendations from various officials. It is difficult to comprehend such an upheaval of our lives from something which cannot be seen.
Each one of us has come up with different ways of coping during this difficult time. Some of us have spent time reading more than we have in years past. Others have taken up new hobbies or revived interest in ones we’ve long abandoned. Most have undoubtedly been binge watching various movies and television programmes. At our home, my girls have taken to socialising more online whilst my son has recently taken on the task of learning the Roman numerals up to number 1135. He claims it is something he will do to alleviate his boredom.
As we continue to hope and look forward to the time when we can once again embrace life and others around us, we need to learn to somehow continue coping until that time arrives. Personally, I look forward to the time that I can get on a plane and travel back to Scotland and England. In the meantime, I will continue to browse beautiful photos of the English countryside and the Scottish Highlands and will imagine myself sitting in front of a crackling fireplace in a cozy cottage curled up on the sofa with a throw blanket, a book from one of my favourite Scottish crime writers, and a cup of tea on the nearby coffee table.
