I've learned how very much I value my family and the little things in life.

I'm a teacher and I've realized how the daily contact with my students drives me. I miss them dearly.

I'm also a mom and I've loved being able to spend time with my own child... however boring it is.

My dog is happier than ever and I love spending time with her... more than I ever thought.

And I learned that I need to connect with my extended family more than I have. They mean a lot to me and I haven't reached out enough in the past.

I'm retired and didn't have scheduled commitments except for volunteer jobs twice a week. I am finding that I don't mind isolating at all and I've had more time to get to long-delayed projects like cleaning kitchen cupboards. It's a form of cocooning. The grocery store is nearby and most essential products are available (except for TP!). We plan our meals more carefully now and are saving money by not eating out as much or walking through shopping malls where inevitably I purchase something. Just doing something simple like going outdoors for a walk is much more of a pleasure now as well.

Oh, I also learned that with google meets I can wear pajama pants because my bottom half isn't shown!

Everyone "else" is isolating...we're doing what we always do. Monday Dh is building a commercial building. We just spent 6 days putting a rental back together before the new renter moved in Tuesday. I talked to the neighbor across the street, standing across the street. I talked to the neighbors next door...standing on my deck, looking down at their deck. Not much changed there. I spent yesterday purchasing, then unloading a pallet of bricks. People have called. Emailed jokes and exchanged stories......like always.

Our lives didn't change.....we noticed others did.

I've always liked spending time by myself and doing my own thing, but I hadn't realized how much until we started sheltering at home. While I enjoy the time I spend with my friends in the past, I now know that I could be perfectly happy staying at home most of the time.

Besides cooking, making jewelry, photography and working outside with my hubby, I have so many projects I want to do around here, that I can't imagine ever getting bored or lonely. My biggest problem is that even with being home 24/7, there still isn't enough time in the day.

When this is all over, I will be glad to see my friends again and I will still continue to socialize with them because I think it's good for me, that it's healthy to have social outlets and because I love my friends. But, I won't be at all surprised if I end up cutting way back on the social scene so that I can spend more time at home.

That my introverted self is very, very happy and my fashionista side is so, so sad! ;)

I am really enjoying the projects that I am doing...all long due. I am just fine with this and only miss a dinner now and then out.

I haven’t realised anything, other than a dream, because I love being at home, or rather, not being at work.

The invisible day and date instructor demanding that I wake up, get up, and get on with things that I have little natural interest in, has disappeared.

I still smile inwardly every morning as I stretch and ponder what it is I’d like to do today.

Yesterday the weather was absolutely beautiful and I spent almost all day in the garden preparing it for planting. My son’s back home from Uni, so he came out to help, and we also had a late lunch in the sunshine and treated ourselves to a relaxing gin and tonic.

I guess it helps being an introvert, and my elevated mood has also helped when contacting my extraverted family members, because they seem to need cheering up as they’re suffering the effects of not being able to connect with the outside world.

Of course I do miss my friends, but we’re making up for our lack of seeing each other, by sending more messages of endearment and humour, and planning getogethers as soon as we’re safely able to.

Another positive is that it seems to have triggered an urge for some people to cross a line from being lovely colleagues to potential friends, as we’ve been in touch and are also planning celebratory dates.

I was on the cusp of finishing work altogether through voluntary redundancy anyway, so all this has meant is that I’ve not had to work up until my official leave date at the end of May.....Well, fingers crossed......If the restrictions are lifted before then, I’ll have to go back in. Fortunately, I have quite a bit of time off booked up in May:)

That as an extrovert I get so much energy from the joy of spending time face-to-face with others. I can't wait to hug my Bible Study ladies and church members! We truly are made for relationship.

Learned that in our eighties,hubs and I still work as a team. We have been in isolation over a month. Our kids have kept us in groceries . So we didn't have to shop. We have kept ourselves busy , reading ,cleaning, sorting. We seem to find a new job for each day. Jobs I use to dread , I look forward as my reason for the day. Today is cleaning one of the baths top to bottom. So what if we take breaks and sit on porch and it takes until tomorrow. We are feeling very content in our time working thru this time. Thankful we have been together all these years. Always thankful for my farm days growing up , taught us to be survivors. We got this!

The mention of introvert and extrovert reminded me of the time a distant relative I hardly knew took me out to lunch as a teenager to tell me I was born on the cusp between Aries and Taurus and these two sides would make themselves apparent my whole life. My Aries side would want to be with people, often as the center of attention, while my Taurus side would rather be home doing peaceful domestic and creative things.

I still don't know very much about astrology, but her prediction was 100% accurate. Give me a venue to perform, or friends to laugh with, and I'm happy. Give me solitude and one of my hobbies and I'm happy. I'm not sure it's completely related to astrology though. It used to be said of my paternal grandmother, an opera singer whom I'm very much like in a bunch of ways: "She can't wait to go out, and she can't wait to come home."

Like Dawn, I think a certain amount of social contact is healthy, at least for some of us--including me. Before this crisis I told myself to make more of an effort to get out, even on cold winter nights when it was so hard to leave the house, because I was in danger of becoming isolated. Yes, that was the word I used. :-)

I hate traffic, but I love being in the car. It's because I can listen to music, see the scenery, I'm going to work where I love what I do and with whom I work, going home which I love, or buying things I enjoy. I miss driving. The rest is the same. Having had to "isolate" after major surgery last year, I was already in practice!

:)

In the beginning I lied to myself only to find out it's hard to sit and do nothing. We've been redecorating bathrooms and guest bedrooms with paint and accessories. Yard work begins this weekend and will take me through next weekend. Cooking meals together and housekeeping together is something we always did so we're using this time to perfect it.

I've also learned something about others who used to complain about technology interrupting the simple way of living. Boy are they happy to have technology now!

Because I don't have any friends, I generally stay home and do things around the house in the mornings. In the afternoon, I read and maybe nap. None of that has changed.

The missus is home all the time now. She does not go to the yarn shop to knit with her buddies. That is different.

I had planned on a garage sale, as I have in the past, putting out lots of books to sell (that way I can buy more and refill the shelves). That did not happen, so I am attempting to sell some of the books on Craigslist. I have many postings and not one response. Nuts!

We are both in our 70s and have to re-evaluate our cruising. One 35-day cruise, for this summer, has been stopped by us. Now I am looking for late autumn, with the hope that most of this mess will be over.

Since I'm alone most of the time solitude isn't my problem, I have many interests that keep me involved. My problem is that I HATE being told what I can and can't do and my spirit just rebels big-time when I feel I've lost my freedom. I've been like that ever since I can remember. When I was a kid I actually felt like I couldn't breath when my Mom or any other adult kept a short rein on me. As an employee, after learning what my job was and how to do it correctly, I could never stand anyone standing over my shoulder scrutinizing every move and watching every step I took. So I'm not a happy camper with all this distancing and quarantining and oversight.

Rita, try a different perspective. Your participation in stay at home, social distancing is saving lives. That makes it a joy instead of a struggle.

My life hasn't changed, except for the sorrow I feel for those terribly impacted by this...the ones who are sick, have lost loved ones, the loss to the economy, which affects us all. I love staying home. I have to leave and go to the same places as always....feed store and groceries...altho I am well stocked and groceries aren't absolutely necessary, except to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

I live in a very rural area. So far only 3 cases in this county.

We had to go back to the coast to buy hay. While there, ordered take out from my favorite restaurant. I am glad they are still open, and I hope they make it through this.

The only difference the virus has made for me was the cancellation of some events related to plants I would have attended, but I am still starting rose cuttings and I will be ready for the exchange this fall, if it is held as planned.

jim_1 (Zone 9A) you can try selling them on this site. AbeBooks

That I am able to stay home and not be bored

To be able to stay at home is a privilege, and yet I find myself frustrated from time to time. I have learned that I waste a lot of time in my daily busyness. I have been able to tackle an unfinished project quite quickly with all this confinement. The lack of coming and going also spurs a good amount of creativity, which is good. But I sure do miss getting together with friends, even just hanging out at the coffee shop people watching and reading.

Jim, I sell used books on Amazon and eBay. And if you (or more likely your wife?) is on Facebook, there's Marketplace.

Found out I still can't sit still for more than an hour. All my main areas and bedroom areas so far had the ceiling and walls washed, the furniture polished, summer drapes washed ironed and hung, and everything cleaned. Next week I decided I'm going to paint the master bath on a day that I can't work outside.

That I can be simultaneously (practically) angry at the virus sad to the bone about the deaths and the sicknesses self-pitying about the loss of freedom and hopeful for a not too far away future. Sometimes all of the above within the space of a minute.

Also that I don't like having not enough toilet paper. Or eggs.

Jim, I sell a lot of items on Marketplace (local to my community). Just about every town, city, community has a local to.....marketplace page.

Just google Marketplace for your specific community. You'll have to wait for admin approval. After that it's very easy to sell to locals.

I'm doing fine here, my kids bring food and hubby and I are doing daycare for our 3-year-old great-grandson. His Mom is a bank manager and working very long hours. Tonight we will keep him over as she has to work until ten. Our daughter is working from home, she's an Apple manager and doing conference calls 8 hours a day. I communicate with all my siblings daily on a FB chat. We have a ball. I call the grands often and I keep very busy. Do lots of cooking, more than I've done when the kids were little. I have no complaints except for the way our government has failed to step up. We all know who caused that. tsk, tsk.

I'm going to Rita's house to sell books and whatever.

I’ve learned that I have zero patience for people who don’t think the stay at home order applies to them.

I’ve also learned that it’s ok to not have a green vegetable at every dinner. And I was reminded how good breakfast for dinner is.

Good question. I don’t tend to live an overly busy life, so not like so many things were cancelled.

I have learned that I can role with whatever is thrown my way especially if it is out of my control.

I don't mind being alone. I'm an introvert. I'm super independent. I already did tons of things alone. I like being with my dog and the family member I live with--I'm working from home now. I think in a month or so, I will miss going out for a latte and I've cancelled my vay-cay to Europe. I don't know. I think this experience has confirmed what I already knew about myself.

I also learned that I can manage to ignore some of DH's annoying habits, such as not loading the dishwasher *correctly!* He is a fan of placing items randomly into the DW, rather than systematically as *should* be done! Fortunately, none of my own habits are annoying! LOL!