Photography by Lori K. Tate
Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve never been the most technically savvy one in the bunch. I went to college in 1990 with an IBM Selectric and finally upgraded to a word processor my junior year. When everyone got Palm Pilots back in the ’90s, I stuck with paper, and I was one of the last ones to trade my bag phone in for a cell phone. To this day I refuse to wear an Apple watch, I still keep a paper calendar and I have a minimal number of apps on my phone. The fact that I have blog is comical from the tech side because I have no idea what all of my widgets can do.
Needless to say, I’ve always enjoyed my simpleton lifestyle, and then came the coronavirus. In a matter of days, I began Zooming and Looming while making up passwords for more websites and apps than I can remember. As someone who still writes checks (gasp!) for services, I had to bite the bullet and get Venmo.
Though I’m not thrilled with all of the screen time my children and I have had to put in due to our new sheltering in place lifestyle, I’m grateful. Can you imagine if this would have happened back in the 1970s or 1980s? We all would have had to peace out with a Tab and watch network television for a few months. Now with the Internet and, God forbid, social media, we’re able to connect and support one another, as we share tips and stories to get us through the most daunting period of our lifetime.
So even though I’m not as technically shrewd as an ECPI graduate, I’m proud that I can get my kids where they need to go online for school, peek in on the Cincinnati Zoo’s web cam, and pay any millennial or hip individual from my iPhone. It feels good to learn something new, albeit I was forced into it kicking and screaming with a hardback in my hand.
All of us have been thrown into a new lifestyle during the past week. I know it hasn’t been easy or fun, but we’re doing it, and that’s something to be proud of. When I figure something out on the computer for my kids, I get so excited. When I finish reading a book, I’m thankful I had the time to read. When I look at my yard, by far the biggest beneficiary of the coronavirus, I feel a sense of accomplishment. (Those wild onions are still wondering what happened to them.)
This isn’t at all how I thought 2020 would go. (Remember how much I hated 2019?) All the plans on my paper calendar have been scratched out to make room for Zoom play dates and workouts. Today John and I had planned to go with The Tots to Old Salem for their rite of passage fourth grade fieldtrip. Instead, we’re all working on laptops at home, dreaming of how good those Moravian cookies would have been.
Sure we’re disappointed, just like all the seniors out there who won’t have a prom or a graduation ceremony. It’s heartbreaking, and we need to own our bits of sadness in this, but we also need to realize that all of the new things we’re learning as we fight this virus will help us become a better society.
Will I complain about I-77 traffic as much when everything is back in working order? Okay, a little, but not nearly as much as I used to. Will I shy away from new computer programs? Probably not. Will I take for granted being able to hug my friends? No way.
With each new headline and challenge, we’re learning how to live more meaningful lives. I’m soaking up all that I can to prepare for a better normal than we ever could have imagined.
Stay well!