It makes me feel pretty good to know that Canada is doing all that it can to support its population during this time of self-quarantine to prevent a very easily spreadable disease, but a lot of people I’m talking to are concerned that the president of the United States is not doing all that he can to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
Earlier this week, Donald Trump mused openly that the United States could return to some version of a normal life for citizenry in that country as early as April 12, and then when most people with any kind of brain in their head suggested that would be unrealistic at best and downright dangerous at worst, he again reversed course. Now, Trump has come into line with other Western leaders who have agreed that at least a month of isolation is necessary to slow the spread of the virus.
Get ready to spend the month of April at home, boys and girls.
But for Donald Trump, getting the nation back to work and getting the country’s economy rolling is of more importance than saving what could be a couple hundred thousand lives.
Thing is, a couple hundred thousand Americans dying would actually be good news for Donald Trump, as early estimates hovered around 2 million dead Americans when the president was dismissive of the dangers of Coronavirus early on in this scare. So he can point to 200,000 potential dead bodies as an improvement – but that would still be more dead Americans than 9/11 brought. His indecision and lack of leadership will have dire consequences.
It’s just a matter of how dire.
I mean, it’s silly to think that decisive leadership might somehow prevent the exponential spread of this contagion, but Quebec Premier Francois Legault has been no less than stellar in his response to this pandemic, leaving the population generally relaxed and suggesting, rather than imposing, measures that most reasonable people would find reasonable when it comes to this quarantine thing.
I mean, stay home, relax, and the government will be able to look after most of the self-employed people, including myself, as quickly as they possibly can. I’m sure that although the stress level is high for a lot of people we can manage to stay home, drink some wine, do some stress eating and walk the hell out of your dogs. Don’t have dogs? Walk your cat! Got a fish? Don’t walk the fish. It won’t last very long out there.
That was my mindset a few days ago, when we were mere hours into our first official lockdown weekend. When life was still simple and relatively carefree.
Today, it’s Wednesday and we are in a free fall. My daughter, a closet extrovert, and me, a far more open extrovert, are struggling with the lack of socialization. The lack of difference in days, the lack of difference in times and the lack of structure other than bedtimes and workout times are all affecting us in weird, deteriorating ways. My morning workouts have me feeling wan and exhausted and my evening workouts have become my main heavy lift of the day, with the morning hour spent getting a really good sweat going – when I can muster the energy.
I’m not alone, it appears. All over social media, middle-aged folks in my peer group (I’m talking about myself, too, people) are struggling with sleep issues, ways to break up their days, stay physically active and be mentally stimulated when there is nothing to look forward to, nothing to really get out and do, and no real projects to get underway.
I’m in the same boat, project-wise and they ain’t getting done unless they entail me doing them myself. I’m not real handy that way. The basement has to be cleaned out and that I’ll get to as of tomorrow.
The mood in our household as it stands has morphed from guarded optimism to downright despair, other than my son, who spends his days oscillating between doing projects in the house, watching YouTube videos and playing basketball in the street. I managed to get the net out of the ice and move it down to the curb so we can have a different option for exercise if we want it.
Building structure into the day is helping keep me sane, as it were. Work out first thing in the morning and again at 6 p.m. Supper after that. Midday, the dogs get a walk and then another long one right before bed – usually an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half – and between supper and the dog walk, we watch a movie as a family.
Mid- to late-afternoon is blogging or writing time and I try to even stick to a predetermined number of words as I write to ensure I actually push enough verbiage onto the page to justify my existence in my own mind.
So, the bad news is I’m slowly unraveling.
The good news is I’m unraveling more slowly than others out there.
Stay strong, people. In both ways. Here’s a little no weight workout for you that will be an endorphin booster and help your mood.
NO WEIGHT WORKOUT
Here’s a great little no-weight workout for the house:
15 squats
12 pushups
30 second front plank
15 second plank on each elbow
10 step ups on stairs (each leg)
12 alternating front lunges
12 alternating back lunges
10 more pushups to finish
Try and do each exercise in under a minute and do as many circuits as you would like.
Have fun!
A full body no-weight workout ... without V-Steps ? Special Thanks Marc !