It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood
A beautiful day for a neighbor
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
We are living in an ever-shifting realm right now. Every day we hear new statistics about the spread of Covid-19 while the fears of contracting the disease, losing a loved one to the pandemic, and the catastrophic effect of the economic shut-down are gripping each of us. Some of you have children at home who are asking when they can return to school or play with friends again. Many of you are like me, with elderly parents and in-laws who don’t live close by and I’m so afraid they’ll be exposed and I won’t be able to care for them. Fear and uncertainty are the new normal.
But also part of the new normal: sharing a meal with your nuclear family when in the past, everyone had different schedules. Taking daily walks outside because you need to get out of the house. FaceTime happy hours with family and friends. Cleaning your house, enlisting the kids to help. Coloring your hair and painting your nails. (Maybe discovering that your husband can do your hair!) Organizing the pantry. Being creative with meals, baking way too much. Writing poetry…whoops, probably not. I guess I’m just trying to say there are positives each day in the midst of the fear and chaos.
We are “regular” walkers, that is to say, we were habitual walkers in our neighborhood during normal times. Suddenly, we are encountering many couples, families and individuals whom are unfamiliar. I ask, “Who’s that? Where do they live?” JB shrugs and replies “Never seen them before.” On any given day in 2019, I would have assumed they were brand-new arrivals to our area. However, with the advent of Coronavirus and shelter-in-place, I am certain these people are my neighbors, have been living near me all this time, though I’ve never laid eyes on them before. They may have seen Us—that older couple with the rabid corgi—pass by their window many an evening, but their appearance is new to me.
And although it’s a shame that being forced out of the house under current circumstances does not allow us to become acquaintances, we can still be neighborly. Let’s all be sure to wave, smile, offer a hello while we’re keeping our six-foot social distance. And maybe when this craziness is behind us, we’ll still walk the neighborhood and can actually have a conversation. That is my hope, for some positive side effects to emerge from this experience.