Coping with the COVID-19 chaos

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Like many other people, I imagine, I thought that the turmoil surrounding COVID-19 wouldn’t really touch me. I’m fairly healthy, I don’t work outside the home, and we only have the boys on the weekends. Boy, was I wrong! LOL

The first inkling that this would affect me was when I got the results of my uterine ultrasound. Turns out the reason I’ve had excessive bleeding was a big old fibroid (like half-the-size-of-my-uterus big). This, combined with previous cervical issues, was enough to make it a reasonable decision to have a hysterectomy. However, it isn’t a good time to have an elective surgery, so my doctor started me on some progesterone.

The second thing that opened my eyes was when my daughter went into the hospital to be induced. You may remember my post about my impending Grandma-hood. Well, the hospital was screening each visitor very thoroughly, and only allowing two people (besides the support person) in the room at a time. This was understandable. But the next day, there were new restrictions, and NO visitors were allowed! Of course, my son-in-law was able to stay with her, thank goodness, but I know she was counting on having her mom there, too. It broke my heart to leave her! Ultimately, she ended up having a C-section, and mom and baby are doing fine. Yay!

Another scary situation is the stock market and financial news. We had been planning on retiring early and becoming “nomads”, traveling to different countries and staying there for a few months, then moving to another place. The downturn has really affected our plans, and we are considering other retirement options now.

How to cope?

Here in California, we are under a stay-at-home order and encouraged to practice “social distancing” if we do have to go out. Many restaurants and wineries are closed or operating only as take-out or delivery services. Most schools are closed. Businesses are taking extra precautions to keep their touchable surfaces clean. Older adults are advised to stay home entirely. I feel like everyone should limit their social interactions to avoid spreading the virus.

All of this can seem overwhelming at times. I think it’s important to take a deep breath and focus on one thing at a time. Here are some of the things I’m doing to keep myself busy and sane:

• Cleaning my house. I’m one of those people who finds it therapeutic to clean, and having a clean house makes me feel calm
• Reading. Currently I’m reading American Sherlock by Kate Winkler Dawson, Radical Kindness by Angela Santomero, and A Very Stable Genius by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonig
• Yoga. I love Yoga with Adriene on YouTube
• Learning new things. I have all the stuff to start crocheting, I plan to sit down and work on it soon. I’m using Rosetta Stone to learn Spanish.
• Decluttering. I’ve previously blogged about my minimalism journey, I’m still plugging along at it. Right now, I’m working on my books
• Yardwork. I need to prune my roses (I’m late!) and clean up my chicken area. After my lavender stops blooming, I need to trim it back, too – it’s taking over, lol
• My beauty routine. Now, I don’t wear make-up every day, but sometimes I do put it on, just for fun. Of course, I still wear perfume every day, because I love to smell good. I do my own mani/pedis.

What are some of the things you’re doing to keep busy and/or calm during this turbulent time?