Covid Chronicles: Meet Christine!

Depending on where you are, we are a little over two months into a shelter-in-place in response to the covid-19/coronavirus pandemic. One hundred years from now, how will we look back at the unprecedented “closing” of the entire world in response to a virus? There is a lot of hate being thrown at governments and politicians. One side feels they aren’t taking this seriously enough. The other side feels like our freedoms have been taken from us and we should re-open immediately. No one is happy. Underneath all of that are individuals and families just trying to make it. Some of us are single and sheltering alone. Some of us are in crowded households with no time or space to ourselves. I wanted to capture the stories of those individuals...my friends. How are they dealing with all of this? I wanted to do this blog to celebrate those people who are holding it down during some really difficult financial and emotional times.

Tell us your first name and a little bit about yourself.

My name is Christine and I currently live alone. I was supposed to start peer support classes right before all this happened, but then everything got shut down. I'm just trying to survive, but it's been hard.

In which part of the world do you live?

Quincy, Massachusetts

 

Are you sheltering in place alone or with others? Tell us about your “quarantine” family.

I'm by myself.

On a scale of 1-10, how have you been at this whole sheltering thing anyway? 1 means you are essentially carrying on as if nothing is going on. 10 means you’re not leaving your house for any reason and having everything delivered to you. (No judgments here...just curious how people would self-rate.)
I'd say I'm about a 7 or 8.

Do you know anyone who has/had covid-19?

Yes, my aunt passed away on April 5th from it.

And my mom, she recovered and is actually back to work.

If you are alone, how are you handling the isolation? If you are with others, how are you handling that?

It is/has taken a toll on my mental health. I miss my family. I just wanna give my mom a hug.

Are you able to get out and enjoy nature anywhere near you?

I go on walks and try to take it all in but honestly I'm tired of seeing the same thing.

What kind of self-care habits have you put in place to keep you sane?

Doing my hair at least 2x a week, masks, doing my nails.

Be honest...you’ve cut your own hair, right?

I sure have! But, to be fair, I went to cosmetology school.

What surprising positive thing has happened because of the time being spent at home/with family?

Mmmmmm.......

How are you doing birthdays and other celebrations with all of the restrictions in place?

Zoom!

What changes do you think you will permanently implement after this experience?

Everything is gonna be different!

Are you ready to get back into the world (with safety precautions in place)?

Yes

Which TV shows have you been watching and what do you think everyone else should start?

Shameless,tiger king, good girls, Nicky jam

What is the first thing you’re going to do when the shelter-in-place is lifted?

Give my mom a hug.

Who is the person you have missed seeing most during this time?

My mom

What song would best represent the time you’ve spent at home?

It's the end of the world....

In a fantasy world where the virus doesn’t exist and money isn’t an issue, where is your dream vacation destination?

Hawaii