Corona Letters #27

So it's Monday I think.  Today is possibly April 20, 2020.
I think it is Patriot's Day, a holiday usually fervently celebrated in Massachusetts.
Under normal circumstances today would be the day that thousands of people would run the Boston Marathon and that is how most of know that it is Patriots Day.

How on earth do we know now?
Also, Patriots Day usually marks the beginning of April vacation for Massachusetts.
Massachusetts has called off vacation this year, since so much schooling has already been lost.
What I am basically trying to say is,

"Does anybody really know what time it is?
Does anybody really care?"

So, it's Monday I think.  Possibly Patriots day?   In the month of April?
Your guess is as good as mine.

Judging by my social media accounts, the novelty of this quarantine has worn off.
The natives are getting restless and everyone just wants this to be over.
Including me.
Last night the dog kept me up most of the night, then I when my husband took the dog downstairs so I could finally get some sleep, the work trucks started re-paving our road.  Seriously?
I came downstairs just in time for my mother-in-law to wake up and she needed some help with morning things.
I know people have it worse.  I really do.  But, I had no reserves this morning to feel empathy/sympathy/kindly towards anyone else.

I. just. want. this. to. be. over.

It's at times like this that I hear a voice in my head.
Not the kind of voice that sends you to the psychiatrist (although that might be helpful at this point)
The voice is from the distant past from a co-worker I had years ago.
I was a young twenty something, just starting out in life.
Work got in the way of everything I wanted to do.   Every Monday morning I would tell my co-worker (who was probably the age I am now) that I couldn't wait until Friday.  For the most part he listened patiently with an amused smile.   Then one day, out of the blue, he says,

"Don't wish your life away.   If you spend every week wishing for the weekend, you are wishing 5/7 of your life away."

That's all he said but it has stuck with me through a lot of hard times.

When times are tough, we wish that time away with all our might..
"I can't wait until I'm done with this calculus class"
"I can't wait until this pregnancy is over, and I have this baby!"
"I can't wait for winter to be over, and for spring to spring!"
"I just need to hold on a few months, and this heartbreak will be over."

and,

"I just can't wait until this pandemic is over."

Yes.  We all think it.  We all feel it deep in our bones.

"When this is over......"

The problem is, we don't know when it will be over, and we don't know what our worlds will look like when it is over.   They might be better, but they could also be worse.

There could be serious financial issues.
There could be health problems.
There could be death.

So, we shouldn't wish our lives away.  If you wish the next year away you could be wishing away 1/20, 1/53, or 1/78 of your life into oblivion.

How do we live for today when today is less than ideal?

I have no idea.

But we can start by not wishing it away.