Too much time on your hands?
I will be the first to confess that I don’t do well if I’m told to wait, take time off or just wait! The present circumstances with social distancing, makes it almost impossible for many to not go ‘stir crazy’ and be more apt to scream at their kids, dog, cat or spouse. Last week I was crazy enough to believe that going to a local grocery store at 5 am would bless me with an assortment of much needed items. The reality, which wasn’t fun, was that the store was totally packed out, with seniors, that had to wait in line to check out for more than an hour. The store hadn’t changed their number of cashiers to deal with the demand. The endless line of carts actually filled the store.
I admit that my experience at Food City last week meant that I got to make a new friend, Albert, who had moved to Phoenix four years prior from Chicago. The downside; is that if any of us were sick we would be sharing our infirmities with those around us. Driving by Costco yesterday, there was an incredible line of hundreds, all seniors, waiting for the doors to open and be provided with sanitized carts. I was not fool hearty enough to join the masses to push to the front to only discover that the truck load of toilet paper was already gone.
I know that Gen Zers were out in full force with spring break apparently in Florida the last couple of weeks. My kids, who are millennials with kids, would be the first to complain that anyone who is ten to fifteen years post college with careers, kids and dogs don’t have the time to catch some ‘rays’ on the beach. The reality is that everyone with kids at home who have to be watched by family don’t have any free time on their hands. After visiting my son’s family, having twins that are under two and a four year old, means that you don’t have time to eat, catch your breath or fix a leaky faucet or bathroom door that won’t shut totally.
So how do we adjust to the new normal? The truth is that we have the same amount of time each day that we did a month ago. The adjustment is that now we are close to being totally locked down in our homes. Many are now working from home, it wasn’t easy to find a quiet place with enough table space to meet the demand, yet the challenge is that my kids are home also. The difficulty is that we all need time alone, time with friends and most importantly time with our families. The issue that is stretching is that when we have too much time in any of these circumstances, life becomes rather interesting and then crazy.
I so much appreciate Solomon and his words of wisdom found in Ecclesiastes! Yes, now I understand this notion of having a time or season for every matter under the sun or in life. Yes, even having too much free time becomes a new normal today. How in the world do I stop from totally binging on reruns, first run movies or watching what I already have in my library 24-7? My kids or grandkids can only sit still for so long before they go crazy and drive me totally loony. I’m fortunate to live in AZ where spring is here with temps in the 80’s so hiking and being outside is a real blessing. Yet, there is the potential because too many are on the trails that our parks and pathways could be locked down because of the virus.
Anxiety is a fact of life that doesn’t have to cripple us but ultimately should empower us to do little things of kindness for others. This last week I had a close friend, a teacher, volunteer to shop for groceries for some of our families. This was no little task considering that getting a cart of groceries now could take a couple of hours. What was a lovely surprise and gift was she and a close teacher friend had purchased, as a gift, enough groceries to feed 8 families.
Please think about the seniors, grandparents in your life today! Recently my wife sent her mom, she’s 92 and a recent widower, a care package because she had recently moved into assisted living and is on total lock down. I also printed out a few pictures of the grandsons to send to another grandma with the same intention of lifting their isolated spirits.