"Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats." - Voltaire

What is social distancing? I became acquainted with this term along with sheltering-in-place because of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people maintain a distance of six feet from other people to avoid getting or spreading the COVID-19 coronavirus. Symptomatic or not, people can spread the virus through droplets expelled from coughing, sneezing, talking or breathing.

Very quickly, I learned that my husband and son are professional social distancers. My husband spends his self-imposed quarantine watching TV shows and movies in the guest room/office which is now his man cave. From time to time, he comes out to the kitchen, going through the cabinets, to get snacks, murmuring to himself, "What do I want?" Did I tell you already that he's an introvert? Like his father, my 19-year old son also took to social distancing like fish to ocean. Like a typical teenager, he enjoys self-imprisonment in his room where he attends classes online and plays video games with other gamers. Nowadays, he prefers the darkness of his bedroom and emerges only when hunger strikes (kitchen) or nature calls (the bathroom). I ask him to do errands just to get him out of the house.

Because we must venture out occasionally. To celebrate a friend's May birthday, I suggested we meet outside the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. I got the idea from my neighbor who meets her daughter from Alameda and one-year old granddaughter there, using a lawn area just outside the campus. Although a Stockton resident, my friend wasn't keen on the idea. The school is closed, she said. What if she needed to use the restroom? To compromise, I brought lunch, ordered from a nearby Thai restaurant, which we enjoyed in her backyard. Yes, we applied the required social distance and wore our masks while visiting.

Technology has made social distancing bearable and allows us to get on with our lives, albeit differently. Through video conferencing apps like Zoom, Skype or Webex, teams can meet virtually; family and friends can stay connected and celebrate birthdays, graduations, and other special occasions.

Social distancing can be tough, though. My cousin's 81-year old mother ended up in the hospital. No visitors were allowed. When she was released from the hospital, she had to go to a rehabilitation facility. The family could not check out the place beforehand and they could not visit her. A telephone call will not do; she is hard of hearing. How isolating! I wonder how she is coping. I suggested video call or FaceTime. The facility should be able to make this happen. FaceTime via an iPad enables my neighbor to virtually see her 86-year old mother at an assisted-living facility in New York. How grateful we are for this technology.
This COVID-19 pandemic continues to test our resolve, patience, and humanity. Black Americans suffer more deaths from this virus than any other group. And Black Americans continue to die at the hands of police who are supposed to protect them. In protest to the ongoing police brutality against them, America and the world, took to the streets to protest, social distancing be damned. We do our best and do what's necessary at any given moment.

Until we have a vaccine for COVID-19, we must be willing to stay at home when we can and try to have fun while doing so. And just as important, we must practice social distancing and wear face masks in public. They're inconvenient and require sacrifice but they work. Then perhaps, we will be able to survive this shipwreck.

~ Nida Spalding