Sarah’s Simple Pleasures: Coronavirus Edition
By Sarah McCoy | March 21, 2020 |
While I am not scheduled to post a column this month, how could I not in light of a global pandemic? It is now when we are grasping for simple pleasures most of all.
At this very hour, my husband (Doc B) is at the hospital attending to patients. He’s been doing so 24/7 since the coronavirus hit our nation. As an immunocompromised individual, I am under strict lock-down. Self-isolation by way of a matrimonial physician. But I couldn’t just sit here at my desk while he’s out helping people. So, I’ve taken up my trade tool (words) and am attempting to bring some aid, comfort, or at the very least, a distraction to my fellow home bound community.
Here are six simple pleasures that have been Sarah-tested and approved. These require nothing and provide great relief from the toxic fear plaguing us as tenaciously as this microbial foe.
1) Flowers. Splurge on a bouquet at the store. Now is the time. There may not be toilet paper on the shelves but it’s the beginning of spring and Mother Nature is immune to Corona’s affliction. Doc B surprised me with a bunch of flowers, and I was stunned to tears at how effective they were in lifting my spirit. I filled vases and jelly jars, big and small, and put them in every room. If store-bought blooms are unavailable, don’t worry. Flowers are ubiquitous, which leads me to #2…
2) The outdoors. Just because we are under self-isolation doesn’t mean we are locked in jail. Isolate yourself in nature. Drive to a trail or pedestrian area if you must. Even cities with the highest populations have parks. Pick some wildflowers. Doesn’t matter how small. Snowdrops are early bloomers, so are daffodils, tulips, hyacinth, wild violets—heck, pull some clovers! Go on a scavenger hunt for these simple floral pleasures, and I dare you not to feel revived when you return with a palm full. If for whatever reason you cannot physically go outside, go for an online ‘walk’ through the garden shops and order flower seeds. Some of those sell for under $1.00. The anticipation of planting them on your windowsill is just as much a seed of hope.
3) A song. Load up your Spotify, play your favorite CD, tune into your local radio station, or sing your own. Doesn’t matter. A song is medicine of the angels, and it will resonate in you for hours… days… however long this quarantine takes. Doc B texted me a song this morning, and it bolstered my optimism. Hours later, when that optimism had been battered down, I stopped, closed my eyes, and sang the chorus out loud to myself. I have the voice of a warbling toad, mind you, but that’s the pleasure of a song. Its beauty exists in your heart’s ear no matter your musical limitations. When I opened my eyes, my dog Gilly had followed the melody to my feet. Lesson learned: when I reach for the simple pleasure, I inevitably find it doubled.
4) A dish. Cook something at home. It could be Julia Child’s coq a vin or a microwave bowl of popcorn. It really doesn’t matter what. The act of creating a nutritious, virus-free dish for yourself and your loved ones is a simple recipe for joy. By our human nature, we are hunter-gatherers—i.e. providers—i.e. caregivers. When we feel we cannot take care of our beloveds, when we are helpless to stop outside forces such as now, we can feel hopeless. This simple act takes back our power while keeping our bodies in fighting form.
Flowers in my farmhouse kitchen
5) A letter. This can be to another person or a letter to yourself in a journal. Either way, it allows us to express what we’re feeling during this global crisis. According to the World Health Organization, the coronavirus can only live on paper for 24 hours. Given that a standard postal letter sent through USPS takes 2-3 days, it is a safe way to ‘reach out and hold’ friends and family. Do it! I promise that it will encourage the recipient and you.
6) Above all, there’s reading, but that’s a given to our Writer Unboxed community. Personally, there hasn’t been a time since my childhood that I’ve given over so many hours to uninterrupted, flagrant reading. It’s the one place where my imagination can walk freely, embrace new people, and travel the globe without fear.
Pick one of the above or all. Take a simple pleasure for yourself. This is a time when we are all concerned about each other, about our family members, our neighbors, our friends. But we must remember that we cannot be our best for them if we are not taking care of ourselves. Take care of yourselves, dear ones. Remember, there is more blue sky out there than storm cloud. We will sail through together.
[coffee]
SARAH McCOY is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the novels Mustique Island, Marilla of Green Gables; The Mapmaker’s Children;The Baker’s Daughter, a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee; the novella “The Branch of Hazel” in Grand Central;The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico; and Le souffle des feuilles et des promesses(Pride and Providence). Her work has been featured in Real Simple, The Millions, Your Health Monthly, Huffington Post, and other publications. She hosted the NPR WSNC Radio monthly program “Bookmarked with Sarah McCoy” and previously taught English writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso. She lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, Brian, an orthopedic sports surgeon, her dog, Gilly, and her cat, Tutu.
Sarah, I love all your simple pleasures!! If there’s a silver lining to this present cloud, it may be that more of us remember the simple delights all around us. Your husband is a hero. Thank you for the simple pleasure of reading this today. Stay well!
Dear Susan,
You’re too kind. Doc B maintains that he’s just doing his job and happy to do it. If he couldn’t apply his medical tools now, what was the point of honing them, right!
I’m glad you enjoyed the Coronavirus Edition of SSP. Thank you for reading and being part of our WU connectivity. Sending a quarantined spirit bouquet your way.
Yours truly,
Sarah
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-AKSr8giTQ/?hl=en
Thank you for this hope-filled post, Sarah. What great suggestions to wrestle down our hurried and worried hearts with these practical pleasures. Unknowingly, many of us have been holding our breaths for a long time. Your reminder is a breath of much needed fresh air.
Dear Heidi,
I heard someone this morning say that one of the major blessings of this coronavirus pandemic is that it’s making humanity STOP and collectively self-evaluate. It’s forcing us to halt the frenetic pace that modernity praises and give respect to the marrow of ourselves– the fundamental elements that make us mortal. I found that so poignantly true.
You echo it in your comment. Thank you for reading and for being part of our WU family. Please be safe and healthy!
Yours truly,
Sarah
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-AKSr8giTQ/?hl=en
Hi Sarah, bought a bouquet of sweet smelling white stock. Look at it every night while reading or watching a film. Even posted a picture on my FB page. Little things matter. We also play music!! Be safe, Beth.
Dear Beth,
Oo, your bouquet sounds divine. Little things do matter! I’m so glad you are sharing those simple pleasures with us and the world.
Be safe and stay healthy, writer friend!
Yours truly,
Sarah
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-AKSr8giTQ/?hl=en
Lovely simple pleasures. I just returned from a walk with my dog, who’s thrilled I’m home, bought a roast, and plan to watch something later with my family. Stay well.
Walking my own Gilly-pup is definitely one of my favorite simple pleasures right now. The coronavirus has no bearing on his world. To him, the sun is shining, the grass is growing, the trees are shedding flower petals… every hour is a new glory. Seeing his bliss reminds me that every creature great and small was ultimately created for that moment-by-moment joy.
I’m sure your roast dinner was delicious as was the family time. Please continue to celebrate life with them and I pray health continues to be on your beloveds.
Yours truly,
Sarah
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-AKSr8giTQ/?hl=en
The dogwoods and azaleas are blooming and I’m sitting on my porch writing. My laptop covered in yellow dust. I’m trying my best to appreciate the beauty of this spring. We only get to experience so many a lifetime and darned if worry is going to steal that away. Stay well and happy writing.
Dear Jamie,
Dogwoods and azaleas are two of my favorite heralds of spring. I wholeheartedly agree with you: we will not let this coronavirus or any wickedness steal our joy. It’s humanity’s most powerful weapon.
Thank you for reading and adding to this special SSP column. Standing tall with my face to the sun beside you in spirit. This too shall pass… and all shall be well.
Yours truly,
Sarah
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-AKSr8giTQ/?hl=en
Simple pleasures : Sunny days (started with the lock-down here – West of France), looking at the wisteria which is blooming, cooking… alone or with children, calling old friends to re-create links which were loosen, dreaming about beautiful travels we’ll do… one day and imagine landscapes… And of course, reading and discovering new friends for few days, weeks or months : I’m sure I won’t forget Marilla, Mathew, John and the others for a long time !! Thank you !
Take Care !
(Sorry for my English, I’m not very used in writing in this language because I’m a french woman from the West of France).