We have now been through seven months of coping with the reality of the COVID 19 pandemic.  We have had to adapt to strict rules of behaviour that most of us have never experienced before.  Some of us are trying to adapt by being philosophical about it; others are very anxious.  Of course, for those with health conditions that put them at high risk, being anxious is a pretty rational reaction.

I am sure that many of you have developed by now strategies for coping and certainly the summer, with a relaxing of the rules, sure helped make it easier to get out and about.  However, it seems we are now faced with ongoing constraints and a long, cold winter.   As I think about the long months ahead, I am reminded of a few years back when my husband and I decided to put a travel ban in place for 12 months.  To be honest, it was really my idea; I have osteoarthritis and wanted to establish a firm and regular exercise routine.  I felt that being in travel status would make it too difficult to accomplish this; hence, the decision to remain in place that year, rather than travelling.  You may have read my article, Travel isn’t all it’s Cracked up to be, in the October, 2018 edition of Reflections.  In the latter part of the article, I put forward a strategy for coping with the long winter months when we would not be able to escape to a kinder, warmer climate.  This strategy is now on my mind as I contemplate a winter with no travel, and with my life impacted by the constraints necessary to contain the spread of the virus.

One of the important elements in my strategy then was to identify what my travel budget would have been and then incorporate that budget into my thoughts about what to include in my strategy.  I had no intent to spend just to spend, but it made it easier to think about more lunches out, or more trips to the Nordic Spa, or taking on a redecorating project and not worrying so much about how much it cost.  Overall, my strategy worked quite well.

I’d like to suggest that this could be one of the key elements in your strategy for the coming months.  The second part of the strategy is not unlike the thought process that you go through when you are thinking about retirement.  It involves identifying the activities that you enjoy both alone and with family and friends.  With the current constraints upon us, the next step, of course, is to focus on those activities that are possible to do taking into account the constraints.  Then it is a matter of considering how you can use this knowledge about what makes you happy to design a plan for maximizing your enjoyment between now and the spring of 2021.  Some activities that you might consider to be too expensive in normal times, may just be possible with the budget you have identified.

Of course, you probably have items on your list that do not involve money and that is great.  The same holds true in retirement.  Not all activities require great outlays of money.   Gardening is a good example of that.  I can spend the whole summer in my garden without spending any money.  My established garden even offers up the opportunity to help others by supplying them with plants that need dividing.  I have to say that this past spring, being able to work in my garden was a life saver given the strict conditions under which we had to live.  Unfortunately, I can’t count on gardening over the winter!!  Having said that, seed ordering in February might be part of my strategy.

What will your priorities be for this next phase in this rather strange time?  Perhaps you are someone who loves to cook or bake.  We do know from the run on flour and yeast in the spring that many confined to home decided to enhance their baking skills.  Perhaps, for some of you, cooking and baking became a more common and enjoyable activity, partly because there was more time in which to do it.  Maybe some of that “travel budget” could be spent on better equipping your kitchen or taking online cooking classes this winter.  To the extent that you are operating in a bubble, this strategy related to food might include more entertaining at home, always keeping in mind what the health constraints are at the time. 

For anyone who loves crafts, this winter would be a great time to indulge in them more than ever or to take up a craft you always wanted to try.  I find myself imagining that this coming holiday season, many of us will be on the receiving end of wonderful, hand made, home made goodies.  In fact, for those who enjoy the holiday season, preparing for the season would be a good focal point for your strategy.  We used to hold an Open House on the before Christmas; I spent a huge amount of time in the fall and early winter planning the menu, preparing some of the food ahead like plum puddings, decorating the house in December, and then working like mad the three of four days before the party.   Every year after the party I would say to my husband we are never doing this again!  And every year by September, I would haul out my winter cookbooks and get started.  All in all, it was a most satisfying way to spend the early weeks of winter.  Planning such functions, as long as they fall within the health guidelines at the time, for the coming winter might be a great way for you to both fill the time and to focus your energies.

Another area to consider including in your strategy involves fitness.  The year of our travel ban, I hired a personal trainer who visited me once a week for an hour, I swam at my fitness club several times a week, and did my own exercise routine most days of the week at home and sometimes at the gym.  For me, fitness was a very big priority and I have to say that I did achieve a decent level of fitness.  I used my “travel fund” to pay for my fitness club membership and my personal trainer; it seemed like an excellent trade off.  Whether you use some of your “travel” budget for better equipping your home gym, paying for membership at a gym, hiring a personal trainer, or taking up a new winter sport, this might be the best time to commit to a fitness regime.  (Some of these suggestions are obviously conditional on the constraints in place at the time.)  On the latter point, spending some time out of doors, even if you normally hibernate in the winter, might also be a good strategy for staying fit and sane!

I imagine that many of you have been learning about and using the many social platforms for interacting with family and friends such as Zoom, Skype, Facetime, etc.  I belong to a film and dinner club; normally we go to a movie and then to dinner on Friday nights.  Since March, we have been holding a one hour Zoom event every Friday at 6:00 pm.  This has been a wonderful way to maintain regular contact with this group of friends and also to continue doing what we did before.  One person suggests what we should watch and which streaming device it is available on, we all watch it at our leisure and then we discuss it on the Zoom call along with catching up on news.  Some variation on this theme might work for you.  Because I have a Zoom account, I have been able to organize a regular Zoom event with a group of high school friends and with friends and family who live far away.  It has proven to be a great way to connect socially and to feel a little less isolated.

It might also be uplifting to undertake a few short trips this winter to give you and your family a break from day to day life, conditional on the constraints in place at the time.    We do live in an area where the number of options for short trips is excellent.  Whether it is a visit to an area like Prince Edward County or the Eastern Townships, or staying at a lodge in the Laurentians, the options seem endless. 

For those of you who are still working, whether from home or an outside office, your strategy might include the luxury of a weekly wellness treatment like a massage (assuming that the rules at the time allow for such activities).  You might want to stock up on lots of candles and bubble bath so that you can treat yourself to a “spa” experience at home.  Once again, using your “travel” budget to cover the cost of this or any other similar treatment, might make it seem more doable than under normal conditions.  I am sure that many working from home miss the informal and formal contact with colleagues.  Perhaps you could meet up regularly for a coffee, or perhaps a walk outside, with some of your colleagues in an effort to have some social contact with them outside Zoom-type events and phone calls.

Psychologists talk about the importance of feeling that we are in control of our lives.  It seems to me that this crisis we are living through is putting us to the test.  With determination, a positive attitude and some creativity, I believe it is possible to feel that we do have some control and I hope that I have given you some food for thought in achieving this.