Love in the Time of Cholera

My lab had our second online meeting this week. Part of our discussion was keeping socially connected even while practicing social isolation. A 21st century Love in the Time of Cholera as it were. ((Or maybe not. I'm rereading the wiki summary and clearly, I did not understand it the first time I read it))

In any case, a few thoughts are bubbling up on Day 3 of the family and work isolation. First, my family is not nearly settled into any sort of routine. We started homeschooling yesterday and I'm about to go wake everyone to start Day 2 but we are not anywhere close to a new normal.

Second, a great idea from my lab: do something "normal" (in our case, research-related) every day. Right now, I'm writing a response to the reviewers on a Revise and Resubmit and I cannot fully state how much I do not give a flying fig newton about trying to convince these folks why my changes meet their critiques. They do. Suck it. ((Hmmmm, my tone on my professional blog has become much more aligned with my tone on my personal one)) We just read Silvia's book on How to Write a Lot and right now, his advice to do something work-related every single workday seems like it can help with mental health as well as productivity

Finally, for today, be gentle with your friends who seem unattached to reality regarding this pandemic. Psychology has done a lot of research on people's attitudes about their health. Believe it or not, not everybody approaches their health, their healthcare, and their relationship to health authorities the same way that you do! Also, denial is not just a river in Egypt. ((And I'm going to digress for a minute and say that I am so old that when I said that tired cliche to my lab students, they thought I was clever and had invented it on my own. Le sigh))

OK. Hang in there, folks. Don't forget to make a live connection with someone outside of your home today. I know some friends have said it's still too soon for them to do that (i.e., it's still too overwhelming and their heads are still spinning), but keep it in your mental health toolbox for now.