By Bob Hall
I
don’t know about you, but this self-quarantining thing has its ups and downs.
It’s a nice option in the morning to choose which sweatpants to put on and then
decide how many episodes of Tiger King to re-watch. The prospect of staying
inside for the next few weeks, well …
Yes,
I have a long list of goals for this downtime: read Ulysses; subscribe to one
of those
Instagram-advertised
learn-Italian-in-a-month programs; finally skin to the lake at Beehive Basin. Of
course, I have accomplished none of the above. Perhaps I’d better get on Amazon
and order the book (is it an essential item?!).
I
have observed a couple of things quarantining on the side of a ski hill. First
of all, it sucks. The lifts aren’t spinning and the skinning looks damned good
up on the peak. Doesn’t April 1 mean we hear robins singing and see the
forsythia blooming? Nope, more snow!
Beyond
these frustrations, I have learned a couple things:
Try
to limit your news watching to one hour a day and remember the network news
services are based in New York at Ground Zero for this pandemic. If I was
Lester Holt and walked through an empty city with the constant blare of sirens,
I’d be scared too.
If
your first priority is email, you are screwed. You can’t possibly keep up with
the endless stream in your inbox and you’ll feel like you are constantly
behind.
You
might be lucky enough to have some or all of your family at the dinner table.
While it gets
a
bit rote, relish the moments after the meal is complete and the dishes AREN’T
cleared. It’s a great time to philosophize, reminisce or emote your
frustrations.
It’s
amazing how good you feel doing something for someone else. Maybe it’s leaving
a $20 bill in a tip jar for our intrepid workers at our grocery stores. Perhaps
it’s helping a small business navigate the thorny process of applying for relief
funds or simply talking a friend off the temporary ledge and having them feel
better about life. Any small gesture will improve your perspective about your
own plight.
What
a time to connect with an old friend or merely an acquaintance. Any past
barriers have been broken down, and there’s no explaining needed for why you
haven’t been in touch; even a simple text shows you care. It’s amazing what you
can accomplish by scrolling through the contacts on your phone.
And
you know what’s going to happen, right? The quarantine will be lifted and we
are all going to say, “Where did the time go?” Why don’t you work backwards
(now I don’t know if that is from May 1 or June 15) and make a list of what you
would like to accomplish? Make things attainable, maybe setting up a Zoom call
with your high school buddies, make scones for the first time, or head to Fawn
Pass for a crust cruise.
What
a time we are collectively living through. Wow! As Teddy Roosevelt recounted,
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong
person stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit
goes to the one who is actually in the arena.”
Folks,
we are all in the area. Build on this adversity. You and greater Big Sky will be
better for it. Remember: You got this!