joyful2beeblogs

I have been thinking a lot about feelings since I am a very feeling human being. During this Covid Virus Pandemic, we all have experienced different emotions or feelings. I want to sort out some of the emotions we all may have experienced and give some helpful suggestions.

The feelings I have experienced include: isolation; boredom from spending so much time at home; a decrease in “creative juices;” sadness for the time I have not been able to enjoy life the way I used to. There is even a sense of grief that this year has not had the trips to South Carolina to see family there; zoo trips, eating out frequently, and movies with friends. Then there are the more frequent visits with family and my grandchildren that I so treasure.

I am a people person. I was a nurse for thirty-seven years and loved helping, comforting, and being around people. I felt like I made a difference in the world by being a loving, helpful, kind person. Those qualities are still there.

But since I am a senior citizen, I restrict my contact even with dear friends, two of whom are nurses who are exposed frequently to Covid patients in the hospital, but use all of the protection the hospital can give them. As much as I love them, I limit our lunch dates to one a week or less and subscribe to the preventive measures to protect myself. At first we met in our cars and parked with a parking space between us, like we did in this picture.

I live in a condo building with the sweetest, kindest of neighbors. I see them only when leaving or entering the building and if I do have need to visit them I wear a mask, use social distancing and hand sanitizer. After 8 months I have shown no symptoms of Covid. These neighbors, friends, as well as my Facebook friends and the three or four phone friends with whom I talk with on the phone have been life lines for me. I do still sometimes feel bored and lonesome but not often.

So my isolation is not nearly as bad as it could be. Also I have a funny black cat who constantly surprises me with her beauty, funny behaviors and her kind listening to me when I talk to her, whether she understands me or not.

Boredom sometimes happens. But I have discovered new avenues of learning and mental stimulation. I have a wooded area around the parking lot of my condominium. There are all kinds of birds, squirrels, rabbits, and other yet unknown creatures. I discovered phone apps that can help me identify birds by their songs by recording them, and pressing analyze. Usually the app gives me a picture and story of each bird.

Proudly I admit to being a tree lover. So as I walk around the circle near the trees, where I use another app to identify trees by photographing and uploading the picture of one of their leaves to the phone app. And there I find their identity and other information. It’s good to learn about our world.

I have also discovered the joys of YouTube. If you didn’t know what is available there, you will be surprised! You can learn how to: fix things around the house; paint with water color or acrylics; Chinese water color; learn a language; and so much more. You can even enter a description of a weird sound your car is making and ask for possible causes to help prepare you for questions from a car repairman.

On YouTube you can find interviews, speeches, Ted Talks with just about anyone living and many who are no longer living. You can find some old movies; old television shows; excerpts from old shows; bloopers from just about any show, movie or actor you can imagine.

I discovered a show I haven’t seen in twenty years: The RedGreen Show, a bunch of Canadian guys who live out in the country and do some of the funniest things. Just look up “Handyman Corner” for one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0ztaeiuaUY

I have laughed so hard that I cried over some of their antics, as well as those with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman from the Carol Burnett Show. Here is the one I have watched so many times I lost count!

Another source of comfort and fellowship can be found on FaceChat, Family Zoom times, and other such connections, if you have a phone or computer with a camera. But if not a phone works just fine to talk with loved ones.

If you are retired like I am and/or have some back or arthritis problems and can’t be as active as you used to be, there are things that are interesting around the house to do.

I was a photographer several years ago. My love of beauty in nature, sunsets, animals, and capturing past trips (of which there were many!), family times and more are demonstrated in the volumes of photos on my computer. So I have photos stored in albums from my family history; well you get the idea. The problem is I have some stored on DropBox, some on my Google account under two different email accounts, and photos uploaded to my computer under Uploads, Photos, OneDrive (2 of them). So sorting and erasing these photos alone could take up the next century to go through.

Another productive endeavor is to go through your closet and pull out the clean clothes, shoes, coats, and household goods you no longer use or want and donate them to thrift stores. Right now there are so many who are in need of help. Find thrift stores who help those in need, who sell the goods or give them or the proceeds from the selling of them to those who need help. Believe me knowing that those items are helping someone else can make you feel really good.

Since I am a senior citizen I am conscious of the fact that I could catch Covid or die any time. I am not being morbid, just thinking ahead. I have one son and his wife with three children under 5 years old who live an hour and a half away in one direction from me. My other son and wife live 50 minutes away in the opposite direction. They both have jobs and bills to pay.

So I have been working on compiling infomation about my bank account, credit card, auto repairs, home repairs, insurance policies into their own notebooks. When I finish each will have the account numbers and passwords for the son, who will be my Power of Attorney when I need help.

Then there is this blog. I apologize for being less diligent about writing every other day but as you can see, I have been busy. I thank you all who have been following me and those who are newly signed on as followers. I wish you all a happy season of celebration. Please be careful of your health and the health of others and wear a mask and get vaccinated!!! They really do make a difference.