I was feeling quite anxious about the statewide "shelter-in-place" dictate... until I realized how very little has changed in my daily life. And really, if I stop to list out what I did Before and Now, not much is all that different.
These days, I don't go out much. But when I stopped to think about it... I never REALLY went out much. I'd run errands, sure, to places I can mostly still go, if I need to... the pet store, WalMart, the grocery store. I've never been much for clothes or shoe shopping as a form of entertainment, so the closures of those stores haven't affected me all that much. So much for "everything being closed." I do miss hanging out at the book store, and being able to just pop into the craft store, but those aren't really necessary to my mental health, it seems. I really don't miss them.
I do miss my self-care locations. The hair salon (every 6-8 weeks), the nail salon, my Weight Watchers meetings, the place I go for foot reflexology. Those are places more necessary to my mental health, because without regular haircuts and facial waxings, I start to feel less attractive than I usually do, which isn't saying much. (I'm not a vain creature, and harbor no illusions about my physical beauty. I'll do, but I'm no Scarlett Johansson.) Pedicures and reflexology are my treats, the little rewards I give myself for making it through another week. Without them, there's not much to reward myself with... other than food, and that negates the purpose of my now-virtual Weight Watchers meetings.
What do I do now? Well, one thing I don't do is go to stores just for the sake of getting out. I don't think I'll actually catch Covid-19, nor do I think I'm an asymptomatic carrier who could infect the hapless fool who gets inside my 6 foot bubble, but I don't see the point in going out masked just to wander aimlessly through the aisles. Shopping these days is for people who need something - and right now, there isn't that much that I actually need that I can't get online.
Generally, my go-to activity after a day of online teaching is just to get out of the house. I take my dog to the local dog park which isn't, miracle of miracles, closed yet. I do go in masked, and stay at least 6 feet away from other owners... I still pet the dogs, which some people are leery about, but I figure that unless someone's coughed or sneezed directly on their pup fairly recently, I'm safe enough. I could be wrong, but there's only so much paranoia a girl can handle. Going to the dog park at least gets me out into the sunlight, standing up rather than sitting, and gives me a chance to speak to people I'm not related to. And that's good for me.
I occasionally take walks with my dog and my son, and on weekends, our whole family (all three of us, plus dog) heads out together to find some new literal stomping grounds. I'm not fond of walking, but I go because I know it's good for me to be outside and moving. From the numbers of other people we see on these outings, it seems that we're far from the only ones to have this idea.
And sometimes I just drive. I don't know what's so appealing about that, since I'm driving with no real destination in mind, just driving for the sake of going somewhere that isn't "here," but it's what I do these days. And what I used to do, pre-quarantine. Only then, I'd occasionally stop at a store and go in just to walk around. Now, I can't... but I still drive.
I miss being able to go visit my friends of a weekend. I miss my Friday night dinners with my friend Lisa, miss taking in the latest Disney movie with my friend Sue. I miss my parents, and being able to go visit them... though I supposed I could, and stay masked and six feet away. I miss going to zoos and museums, and the occasional trek into New York City to take in the sights and sounds of a metropolis. Mostly, I miss being able to do what I want, when I want.
But if I stop to think about it, and be honest with myself... my life really hasn't changed much from what it was, pre-Coronavirus. And I'm not sure if that's comforting... or just pathetic.