Kat Kilshaw
TW: mental health, lockdown, Covid19
“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?” – Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell
How we spend our time shapes our identity, and since March 2020 there have been times when there’s been little to do but panic. Our coping mechanisms were either taken away completely, or replaced with some substandard, zoom-based alternative. The world was plunged the into a collective existential crisis. Who am I if I can’t go to work, the pub, the theatre, the gym? When someone in your social circle is in crisis, the clan rallies round. But what happens when you’re all in crisis? It became a cliché to qualify every complaint with: ‘but don’t worry, I know how lucky I am.’
Human beings need rituals to mark life transitions, big or small. But there have been no weddings to celebrate lovers taking the next step, no funerals to mark the loss of life. No work commutes or Friday drinks. And if you were still commuting it was through a dystopian ghost town. We needed more than ever to hold each other, but checking in with our families and hanging out with our mates wasn’t safe. Kids couldn’t see their grandparents, none of us could hug our parents. We spent every phone call with our nans begging them to stay inside. For anyone who loved a shielder, or was a shielder, multiply all this distress by 10. For anyone who loved a frontline worker, or was a frontline worker, multiply by 10.
“Now is not the time to skimp on the tip.”
We have been waiting tentatively for things to get better and now, finally, more and more of us are being vaccinated and restrictions are gradually lifting. Being able to spend time with loved ones has lifted my mood immeasurably. Every moment feels precious. Let’s never stop enjoying our time with friends and family as if we haven’t seen them for months. While it’s been a shared experience in many ways, we’ve all had our own unique journey, so let’s not expect everyone to be where we are mentally, emotionally, or physically. Let’s respect each other’s house rules and for god’s sake, be nice to people working in the service industry! Now is not the time to skimp on the tip.
Image courtesy of Zhu Liang on Unsplash. Image licence found here. No changes were made to this image.
