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Life In The Time Of Corona

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Had there been nothing called the Corona Virus or the COVID-19, my husband and I would be in Barcelona today. We would be hiking up Mount Tibidabo, enjoying the beauty of Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia. Then we would be enjoying the views of Costa Brava and basking in the spookiness of the Gothic Quarter. Next we would head to Seville for a couple of days, and then to Madrid for the anniversary. We would watch a flamenco show, eat some delicious food, try the local beer and have endless conversations to mark seven years of being married! Then we'd head to Porto for an entire day of wine tasting and a vineyard tour followed by a few days of sightseeing in gorgeous Lisbon. We would spend two glorious weeks touring Spain and Portugal. We had meticulously researched, planned and set everything ready for our holiday. Then, life happened.

They say life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans. Well, it came more than true in our case. Even after Corona struck and Spain was only a little infected (with numbers under 200), we were still okay to travel. We would take all the precautions and stay careful. Then a week ago, the numbers shot up by 250 on a single day. That is when we decided to cancel. Although we cancelled and were unsure of the refunds, we still kept wondering if we had made the right decision. Then the next day, the numbers increased to 500, next 1500 and 2500 next. As of today, Spain has 8744 cases and 297 deaths and 410 of them are critical. Oh yeah, we made the right decision after all.

Before I get to what happened after we cancelled and how life has been in quarantine, I want to take a minute to appreciate the power of social media. While many say that the numbers and the gravity of the situation has been exaggerated on social media, I want to thank many people who are in Spain and helped us understand the situation there better. Right when the numbers were climbing up, we reached out to people on Instagram who had recently posted pictures with the #spaintravel. Almost all of them responded and kept giving us daily updates. Most of them encouraged us to cancel while some of them told us about specific areas where the situation wasn't that serious. At the end of the day, it was a call that we had to take and I'm glad we took the right one. Once the issue settles down, we'll travel.

I won't lie to you, I have been panic-stricken ever since India got its first case. No, I'm not the one hoarding up on sanitizers and masks. We had bought a couple of small bottles and a mask each when we were still looking to travel. We haven't even used that yet as we've been home bound since a couple of days. Water and soap is more than enough to clean your body. I've been panicking because of the way others are behaving. In India, it is not that serious, and we all should work together to keep it that way. With people fleeing hospitals, hiding travel information from the health authorities, breaking quarantine; everyone is at a risk. While the young and healthy might beat this, we should think of others who might not. We clearly could have finished our holiday and come back to isolation, but what if we had infected someone in the interim? Just the thought of it troubles me. It is not easy to stay cooped up, but our individual wishes look small-minded and almost whimsical when compared to the collective well-being of the human race. Doesn't it?

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The Government of India and every other infected country has asked all of us to stay at home as much as possible and exercise caution. I'm don't love staying at home, but I don't mind it either. Especially when it has to be done. I do a lot more work when I am at home. I also end up cooking a lot, reading, painting or doing something else creative while I'm at home. So yeah, I can survive. Lethargy does hit every now and then, but it is a lot better when compared to anxiety and paranoia. My anxiety has been off the charts even since this virus came into the picture and I'm trying my best to get past this while retaining my sanity. My husband, on the other hand has been finding it extremely difficult to stay at home. He's an outdoor person and wants to keep going out. While we do go out to meet our parents and to places with no crowds or to buy a few basics for home, we're spending most of the time at home. Both of us are conversationalists, so it is working out well for us. For now, at least. Having a fully stocked bar helps too.

For everyone out there, think of this as a detox. Detox from the people and the environment. Social distancing is what we need the most now and we owe it to ourselves to take it seriously. I'm sick and tired of seeing all the memes out there along with the husband-wife jokes. I agree we could do with something light during such situations, but memes and jokes are not the solution to it. Netflix, maybe. Dog videos, definitely! It is now time to take a closer look at our lifestyles and let go of the self-centered outlook. It is time for each of us to temporarily give up our individual freedom in order to protect everybody. We are all together in death, but while we're alive let's work together to stay away from it. Makes sense, right?

So, I've been spending my self-isolation time by working for 8 hours, reading, writing, cooking, incessant cleaning, painting, watching back to back movies, endless conversations with the husband, playing scrabble over a glass of wine and doing everything it takes to keep us sane in such difficult times. We don't forget why we're here though. It is the need of the hour and we want to do our bit for it.

How is your self-isolation time going on?

Comments

  1. So sorry to hear about your trip cancellation- it sounded like a blast was planned right down to the T. I hope you get to do this holiday soonest!

    But I am happy you took the right call and cancelled it- its been crazy all over and a little precaution is the best thing for this right now.

    I had plans for my bday but now will spend it in my house with plenty of social distancing. One of my cousins was supposed to visit and I made him cancel plans when the Delhi riots happened. So happy that we took that call as the situation is pretty crazy now.

    Wishing everyone to stay safe and hoping for the virus to not escalate into a full blown medical crisis any further.

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    1. I'm glad we made the right call at the right time.

      I hope we all survive this together. Fingers crossed!

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  2. It is the same situation in every household possibly with minor variations.Sad that your holiday trip got cancelled but imagine the incalculable harm to tourism industry,
    hotels, airlines,transport,entertainment places not to speak of production units and trading places.The impact on the country's economy and world over can be very hard unless the threat vanishes as soon as it came.We are praying and hoping.
    Nicely and interestingly written on a much discussed subject.Thanks.

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    1. Thank you, KP Sir. The world economy has taken a huge hit and will take a few years to get back to normal. As of now, I just hope lives are saved.

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  3. I'm glad you had the sense to cancel that trip. Twitter shows me many many stupid people who are just not understanding the seriousness of the situation. I agree this is a great time to detox. The children are home and I'm glad of that.

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  4. It must be soo dissapointing. But yeah good call on the vacation. We are all in this together, and the only way to fight it is together. I am doing okay for the most part. Because I am not overly social or overly outdoorsy. Though I miss the long walks during spring with friends and family. And my visits to the public library and the community there. But we are all staying indoors for the most part, working out at home, and generally staying isolated. That's our only hope to get past this as soon as possible.

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    1. We need to adhere to the need of the hour. No other option now.

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  5. Its a sad situation all around. But the precautions are necessary.

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  6. Babes, haven't read your post yet, but grinning ear to ear. I've written "love' in times corona and you have written about "life " in times of Corona. Too keel. Hugs big ones xoxox

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  7. Take care sweetheart. Some of our key travel plans also got suspended, including Dad's 80th birthday celebrations in Lucknow, we suspended our Anniversary dinner too (reminder to make up for it now, soon- at home ;-))
    Was also to go to the forests end of next week. All cancelled.
    But for the best I guess.

    I'm trying to do most of the things I wrote here. Have been stepping out a bit but not too much. Did go in to work on Monday but it's WFH now, for both DH and I.

    You take care, enjoy the wine, and listen to some uplifting music.
    Love


    https://natashamusing.com/2020/03/love-in-the-times-of-corona-wordlesswednesday-wednesdaywisdom-yeahwritenonfiction/

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    1. Thank you, darling! It sucks that your plans had to be cancelled, but I'm glad you are all together for the indoor celebrations.

      Let us all survive this together.

      Love!

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  8. Hopefully next year you will be frolicking in the same locations for your anniversary. Yeah life happens what to do. I was so looking forward to meet people after a year of being indoors, but well... Now just enjoying the city views for a few days before we are told to start working from home. Actually those who have hobbies, thisis the best period to indulge in all the creativity 😊

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    1. That's the hope! While I have zero motivation to read or write, I'm enjoying painting!

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  9. It's good that you canceled. I can't believe that so many people are so careless about this somehow believing that they will not catch it. For someone like me who works from home this is a huge change with everyone at home. And all the stress about Board and other exams really is terrible.

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    1. I was more worried about infecting others even if I survived it. That's the need of the hour.

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  10. It's good that you canceled though it must have been a difficult decision to make. Cases are increasing here in the US too. Husband is working from home. Kids are home too. I was prepping for interviews to restart my career, but with coronavirus spread people are losing jobs and I am not getting many interview calls.
    But that's okay. Things will change later. Right now we should exercise caution. That means no unnecessary going out. But we still go for a walk in our community for 10-15 minutes a day. If condition worsens that will also be stopped.
    My elder one is so disappointed that he can't go to school. It's difficult for the kids. But I hope this will help us humans to be considerate about each other and about the privileges we are getting to enjoy every day, every moment. Hey, I too wrote Life in the time of Corona. :)

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    1. I know :)

      Give it some time, Vinitha. Once this settles down, you will be flooded with interviews and offers I'm sure <3

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