If you've just come to this BlogSpot for the first time or after a long while, I encourage you to read posts from the very beginning. You'll find my personal experiences and opinions of course, but also links of interest. This blog is a labor of love - and empathy - for others who have chosen the Never Married No Kids lifestyle. Though it's more common than ever, I feel NMNK need support. It's here.
I'm betting that those NMNKs who are self quarantined or forced to stay at home are doing better than those who don't live alone or who are in relationships that require maintenance. That's because I think people who are childless and never married - or perhaps alone because the house has cleared out of children and are widowed or divorced - can deal with all that aloneness much better.
Consider my friend who I called recently who started out by telling me she has not had a television in years, has a pile of books to read, meditates, and otherwise has a lot of small projects to complete. Recently retired, this woman has not been married for many years, plans not to remarry again, never had children, and has only one relative alive to check in on her. But she feels no concern because her chances of catching Corona-19 are slim, especially because she doesn't feel the need to go out, and she loves the time alone.
I recently heard a broadcast on the radio - I think it was a PBS station and if not a Public Radio or College station - that was of interest. One person in Los Angeles out of five has no one to look in on them. Some people were startled to hear that.
The virus has forced the issue of Who To Call if it's an emergency. Though some NMNK still have family or friends to look after them, there are those who have no plan of action, no one to call. For some this is scary, for others who have had the money to pre-plan, not so much. For those with no money and no plan, well - you are not alone. You might even be thinking that you don't want a funeral, you don't want fuss, you don't even want an obituary in the paper. You love your privacy and wouldn't want an expensive funeral anyway.
I personally am not worried. Concerned yes. Concerned for humanity.
Am I fighting depression? A little. It's because I was concerned for humanity before the virus forced us to conduct ourselves in a way that is not natural or human and because in my brief time out of the house, when I accompany a senior friend of mine on outings, we have encountered domestic violence occurring in the vehicle ahead of us. I've also heard a Hispanic man call a man who was driving without a mask a "Nigger." The Hispanic man was not wearing a mask. He was walking with earphones on. I really do not want the tension people feel to result in domestic violence or racial violence.
That I have a dog and walk daily makes a difference.
I too have long lists of things I want to do with my time and have been doing with my time - especially trying new recipes challenged by the ingredients I already have in the house since I didn't want to be part of the hoarding and saw so many people not compliant with wearing masks around. So I find new recipes on the Internet or YouTube and try them - some are delicious and worth keeping.
I'm sewing.
I'm listening to audio books.
I'm reading the news - maybe too much - but OK.
I wrote a long letter to a public personality that I've been meaning to write for over a year and mailed it.
And so on.
How are you doing?
How are you doing?
Sister
