Pandemic activities that make the glass half full

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2020

Dear Annie: In the midst of all the negativity toward the coronavirus pandemic challenges, it is easy to look at the glass as being half empty. In some ways, however, the glass is half full. Here is a partial list:

In the South, where I live, the pandemic happened during excellent weather, encouraging people to get outside and exercise, and to do yardwork. There is less rush-hour traffic, lower gas prices and more time to spend with the immediate family -- maybe even away from the TV and video games.

This is also an opportunity to:

1. Clean out closets and drawers.

2. Hand-wash and detail your vehicle.

3. Try all those recipes you have been keeping and never had time to attempt

4. REALLY do spring-cleaning.

5. Plant a garden and grow your own vegetables (since you can’t find them in the store anyway!).

6. Catch up with old friends/family via phone, email and snail mail.

7. Write notes to all those people you have wanted to thank personally over the years. (This is an especially isolating time for older people, so a note that you are thinking about them would mean a lot to them.)

It is also an opportunity to remember and truly appreciate all those things we regularly take for granted, such as:

1. Sitting in a nice restaurant, with a tablecloth and cloth napkins, and a candle on the table, and a waiter or waitress to make your meal perfect.

2. Going to a grocery store and actually having options of brands and sizes of various products -not just having to take what is available, if there is anything available.

3. Being able to return items ... for ANY reason Also, for those of you who are hesitant to meet new people because you don’t like to be touched or hugged, 6-foot social distancing makes you the new normal and will allow you to be more comfortable as yourself! Ditto with OCD germophobes! We are all on the same team!

Stretch your imagination to come up with ways to “enjoy” a situation over which you have no control. For instance, Easter is always a time for groups of children to have Easter egg hunts put on by churches, schools, organizations, communities and families. We had a big wooden Easter bunny at our mailbox with a sign directing children to our front porch, where children could get a sanitized bag of jelly beans from an Easter basket.

Graduation is coming up, and most students will not have the traditional ceremony that they have been working hard for, and expecting. Why not have a graduation ceremony at home, complete with caps and gowns (which are probably already paid for anyway) and a homemade diploma (if the real one is not available) presented by the parents who were instrumental in encouraging them to reach this stage in their life. They can also video the entire ceremony to share with family and friends who cannot be there because of social distancing.

We can’t ignore the pandemic. At some point, it will be a part of our history. For now we can make the best of the situation, and look for positives. -Pandemic Positives

Dear Pandemic Positives: Yours is a great letter filled with practical tips to help us make lemonade out of a lemon. Thank you.

Dear Mothers: “A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.” -Victor Hugo.

To all the mothers out there: Happy Mother’s Day! To everyone for whom this is a difficult holiday, may it land gently, to borrow a phrase from columnist and author Connie Schultz.

Sometimes, being a truly loving, tender and caring mom means that your children think you are “mean” at times. But the truth is that teaching discipline to your children will mean they’ll become happier and more well-adjusted adults. So here’s a poem for all those “mean” moms out there who deserve recognition and respect:

“A ‘Mean’ Mother” (Author unknown)

A “mean” mother never allows candy or sweets to take the place of a well-balanced meal.

A mean mother insists on knowing where her children are at all times, who their friends are and what they do.

A mean mother breaks the Child Labor Law by making their children work -- washing dishes, making beds, learning to cook, and doing other cruel and unpleasant chores.

A mean mother makes life miserable for her offspring by insisting that they always tell the truth.

A mean mother produces teenagers who are wiser and more sensible.

A mean mother can smile with secret delight and pride when she hears her own grandchildren call their parents “mean.”

Dear Annie: I compare the anxiety of wanting quarantine to end to those of us who, in the back seat of the car as children, anxiously asked, “Are we there yet?”

Despite boredom and uncomfortable proximity to each other while in the car, we finally made it to our destination, and the time was right to move freely. However, during that car ride, we couldn’t just decide we were “there.” Where would we have been? We had to persevere to get to the correct “there,” no matter how frustrated we were about how long the trip was taking. And we had to trust the people in charge to get us “there.”

Since the lockdown, I have discovered that I am a happy introvert. All my life I have been outgoing, helping others, diving in at the slightest suggestion that I could be of benefit in some way. In the end, I often found myself tired and empty.

I am retired and live alone, having moved several hundreds of miles from my lifelong home just months ago. When the possibility of quarantine was evolving, I decided to make the best of it by planning to be busy at home.

I even discovered projects that I had put aside. Now, those projects are being completed. Hobbies that I wanted to try are coming to life, too. There is energy to exercise, and, for the first time in my life, I am sleeping soundly.

Though I focus on the reason for this time I have to explore these hobbies and projects, and I contemplate the suffering that is occurring, I include thanks in my prayers that I am content. I am a firm believer that attitude is what gets us through. I am thankful to have been introduced to this “me,” who has been waiting in the wings. While being removed from the fast pace that life had become, I hope others have rediscovered and enjoyed what they also may have set aside. May we find that life as we knew it isn’t all we thought it was, and develop a new perspective on our blessings. -- Self-discovery

Dear Congratulations on discovering what makes you happy and content. Knowing oneself is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself and others. Having a positive attitude can certainly help the human spirit to thrive during unsettling times. By slowing down the pace of your life, you sped up the pace of finding joy in your everyday life, and that is a wonderful life to live.

“Ask Me Anything: A Year of Advice From Dear Annie” is out now! Annie Lane’s debut book - featuring favorite columns on love, friendship, family and etiquette - is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing. com for more information.

Send your questions for Annie Lane to

dearannie@creators.com.