What's up? Nothing. Always nothing.

 

When people ask you what’s up or what’s new, how do you respond? Because I know my response for almost a year now: nothing. Nothing is going on because nothing is happening.

 

If you asked me what I was up to last April I would have said nothing. June? It’s warmer out but still nothing. September? Back to school with things possibly maybe looking better at some point in the future. New Year's Eve? Staying at home. Next weekend? Maybe go for a hike. What am I doing this spring? Going for more bike rides and trying to save my money. Imagine calling someone and them telling you an interesting story about something cool they’ve done outside of their home or a fascinating story involving the people who don’t live at their house? Yeah right! Not happening.

 

Is leading a boring life the worst possible thing to happen? Well, no. Being dead would presumably be much worse. Getting Covid would be a more terrible outcome than being bored at home on a random Thursday night. Is not going out actually kind of nice? I would say yes. Lean into this lifestyle. Go to bed early or finally get around to watching The Sopranos. Seoul being the city where I have the least number of friends ever has actually been a positive thing. Nobody to not be able to chill with. I wake up each Friday morning with essentially the same schedule to look forward to:

Being super tired from a week of work so lately asleep by 11pm.

Saturday morning either play poker with my brother's friends or play Xbox with an acquaintance online. Saturday night either eat some sashimi and/or chicken wings and watch something on Crave.

Sunday read, get groceries and maybe call a friend or someone in my family (mom) to complain about a variety of things.

 

I just read an article about how hard this pandemic has been especially hard on working moms. A hotline was setup for women to call and to say whatever they were feeling. Some cried. Some were angry. Some were desperate. Most just wanted a break and some piece and quiet. I then realized that many moms might jump at the opportunity of what my weekends are: silent and free from responsibility.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/04/parenting/working-moms-coronavirus.html

 

I sort of look at my weekends as lame and uneventful. I probably don’t appreciate how tough it must be on families who have younger children, working full time, trying to keep everyone healthy and entertained. I have no tips about how to survive online Zoom classes. I don’t know what you and your partner should talk about since neither of you really go anywhere. I will however mention that while none of this is really fun for anyone, the bright side of this is that (hopefully) you have realized your house is full of love (and possibly a few other emotions). I hope people have spent the last year trying to learn something about themselves and their families. Maybe you have realized your husband is a complete dope and once all of this is over, you will be swiping on Tinder like there is no tomorrow. (Steve, I am looking at you here). Maybe you realized your daughter isn’t all that bad and is actually super funny. Rarely are events 100% all good or bad. This has been mostly bad but this has also been an opportunity to try out that hobby you never seemed to have the time for. Those Saturday nights with your friends playing whist has now hopefully turned into something equally or even more fulfilling. I’ve spent the last year reading more books than ever, biking when the weather is warm, planning my return to Canada, and I’ve spent the last 6 months being as sober as a nun. However, if you’ve spent the last year not learning how to make sourdough, canning jam, or quilting, that’s ok too.

 

I can’t imagine the stress involved in having a family to take care of during this time, but ultimately you have people who need you and look up to you and that’s not all bad. I wish you luck and let’s all just stay patient and kind until this nightmare is behind is.

"Que sera, sera

Whatever will be, will be

The future's not ours to see

Que sera, sera

What will be, will be"

Doris Day