I've written earlier in this quarantine streak about how Zoom came out of nowhere to become the online digital platform of this moment. And I've also speculated about how this stay-at-home experience may teach the culture at large about what is important and how we may change as a result of these times and these experiences. Of course, I don't have any way of truly knowing what the future holds. But I am wondering what changes I myself may carry into the eventual post-COVID days.
One is a stronger appreciation of family. Of course, long-time WWYG?! readers know that family is very important to me--both my own Westerville group and my larger family out there in the rest of the U.S. But living several hundred miles away from most of them as I do has created separation and distance. And my adult life has pushed other priorities to the front of daily/weekly living.
But one that I resolved to do this year--call if an actual New Years Resolution, if you like--, was to reach out more to family on a much more regular basis. That meant calling more often, reaching out for intentionally, and lately actual letter writing. The letter writing part is still in its early days (and isn't only confined to family members). But I was beginning to get into a habit of sitting down on Sunday afternoons and handwriting a letter to someone new each week. For no decent reason, the quarantine disrupted that pattern.
But in its place, my family has instituted a Sunday afternoon Zoom call, where as many of us as can get on the computer and chat for a while. We discuss whatever comes along--haircuts or lack thereof, what we've been watching on Netflix, how the jobs are proceeding, and anything and everything else. It is similar to the catch-up sessions that I've experienced in Christmas family trips, where the first hour of my home arrival ends up with everyone sitting around in mom and dad's living room for an extended chat. But this one happens every week now and not once a year.
I hope that something similar to this will continue in the normal future we all look forward to. Zoom won't disappear when we have good testing and people are able to resume their routine. So I hope that we as a people--family, friends, and loved ones--can keep reaching out to one another and remembering to say: You are important to me. Let's be familiar with each other more. Let's say connected in the good times as well as during the unusual times.
It won't' need to be weekly. But I think it is beneficial to me.
1 comment:
I agree, David. I love the Zoom chats, especially since your family is farther from us than the rest. I’m happy to see you, Lynda and the girls on a weekly basis. Love to all!
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