By: Tina Lesher
A few months ago I penned a piece about my pandemic observations, and a number of bored friends have inquired as to when I planned to update those musings.
Heck, I figured I would never have to do that as the viral period would be well gone by now and I would move into more interesting parts of my life, such as sailing to Europe and spending five weeks in Paris as a celebration of my 50th wedding anniversary (and that of my spouse, too!).
Courtesy of the coronavirus lifestyle of late, we are more inclined to paddle a canoe down the Raritan than enjoy the luxury of our favorite Queen Mary 2 as it makes its way across the Atlantic.
Well, there has got to be a silver lining to all of this.
What idiot created that term? For us, it is a GOLD lining, as in a half-century of wedded bliss.
So now that we are stuck at our Jersey abode, we are enjoying the fruits of our most recent acquisition: a new mattress.
Seriously, who gets a mattress at this stage of a married union? And one that costs more than a transatlantic voyage? It would be cheaper to take a sleeping pill and stay put on a recliner.
I think the pandemic has affected the lifestyle of the average senior citizen.
How may times can you ask your offspring: What is Hulu?
You can hear the mumbling as you are provided with the answer, and then told that it will cost you a few bucks to order it.
Hey, who needs streaming services (notice I have adopted the modern terminology) when you can tape scores of the old Law and Order episodes from decades ago? And what fun it is to answer ALL the Jeopardy questions on the repeated shows!
While my culinary talents have never reached gourmet level or even an interest in cooking, during this pandemic, when our trip to France was curtailed, I became a real fan of the brief tips provided by famed chef Jacques Pepin on Facebook. His recipes are simple---and fantastic. I especially like the French toast recipe wherein the bread is soaked in softened vanilla ice cream. Even John admitted it tastes great. But he is not exactly crazy about other Pepin favorites, like an onion sandwich. Guess they had more sophisticated food back at the diner in Pottsville, Pa., where my spouse grew up.
One of my major hobbies for the past seven decades has been eating---out. Now the Garden State has axed indoor dining, so I have joined many others as we dine alongside major thoroughfares, often with lovely plastic ware. Nothing like a glass of pinot noir in a plastic cup as the sounds of music erupt from passing pickup trucks. Oh, to be a part of such historical times.
I still follow the rules: when I enter my favorite stores (like 7-11) I always don a mask, of course. And now John and I have matching masks emblazoned with Quarantined Together. These lovely coverings were gifts from our children who entertained at an anniversary family party at Monmouth Racetrack, a favorite destination of ours. You can bet I failed to pick a winner.
As the pandemic stretches on, I fear it could prove disastrous to my psychological health. It is difficult for yours truly to figure out who is behind a mask at the grocery store. Is that person smiling or frowning at me? I do not know whether to say hello.
So I nod. That is what we seniors do---we nod.
In fact, we nod off a lot. Sometimes on overpriced mattresses.
Some good news, though: gyms can open next week in Jersey. I can go back to the land of workouts, the local Y. But there is always a catch, and in this case it is that the respective gyms can only open their doors to 25 percent capacity at a time.
Online registration will be the rule. So I will be sweating it out at home as I try to beat the young folks to the computer signups.
That might be the extent of my sweating.
Oh, well. C’est la vie. While I will not get to order a nice Bordeaux in Paris, I keep my sanity by remembering that, in New Jersey, the wine stores are open!