If you’re anything like me, you’re home, safe, healthy, and realizing this quarantine is catching up to you.
I’ve caught up on schoolwork, cleaned every room, and painted clouds on my nails. So I’ve done basically everything I’ve been meaning to for the last three months.
Now I love my (freshly cleaned) apartment, and I’m happy to be quarantined with my boo thang, but being here all the time is making me homesick and sick of my home. Let me explain. Home, to me, is here, in my apartment with my boyfriend. But it’s also everywhere my people are, and right now my people are scattered and my apartment is getting boring.
And I get it, that’s the whole point of this social distancing thing. Don’t see people, don’t get people sick. It’s pretty straightforward.
But what do I do when my boyfriend’s at (home) work? Or when FaceTime just isn’t cutting it? How do I make sure my dog knows I still love him? And how can I spend one more second in the same three rooms of this apartment?
The short answer: I have absolutely no idea.
Long distance relationships have never been my thing. I need constant attention, which is why this quarantine is honestly pretty great for my (romantic) relationship. But it’s hard to stay in touch with friends who feel farther away every day.
And let’s face it, staying inside by yourself in the same house all the time is probably making you depressed. (If it isn’t, good for you but mind ya business and let me be unstable in peace.)
This whole situation sucks, for sure, but to offset the general crappiness, I’ve picked hobbies to do while FaceTiming friends –– I bake with some, play music with others. This has helped me find new hobbies and stay in touch with my people. But it also makes the time I spend talking with them more meaningful, because we’re sharing an experience the same way we would in person. (Not to mention it makes everyone feel more productive.)
And for the time I don’t spend talking with people, I’ve been working on recreating my space. Sitting in the same rooms doing the same things has gotten pretty old pretty fast. So I’ve been planning how to remodel with what I have.
Whether it’s hanging up new photos or moving around furniture, a little change in Feng Shui never hurt anybody. (Except for the time I made my dad move my entire room round and then had a panic attack and made him move everything back. Sorry about that, Brian.)
But the point is, doing the same old stuff in the same old space with the same lack of people doesn’t have to be as stagnant as it seems.
Take some time to reflect on what you need today –– whether it’s time alone, time on the phone, or a change in home decor –– and then do it. (Because I know you aren’t doing anything else today.)
So no, I still don’t know how to make sure my dog knows I love him. But we’re bound to be here for a while, so we might as well do the little things to let our people, and ourselves, know we do.
With love, and a newly decorated apartment,
Jacklyn
All Who Ponder 