1. No driving. As a latecomer to the wheel, I got my license at 42, seven months pregnant, and I was thrilled. I do enjoy driving on empty roads with clear visibility but I don’t miss driving in the dark, driving in the fog, driving in dark mists, driving in heavy rains, driving or sitting in the middle of intersections during traffic jams.
2. No parking. I’ll happily park in a big empty lot, but squeezing myself into a city space or circling for a half hour or more to find one? Not fun. Don’t miss it at all.
3. No flying. I like being able to visit loved ones in faraway places, but I can’t say that I miss the leg cramps, the neck aches, and the turbulence. Life’s already giving us all enough of a bumpy ride on the ground. I don’t need one in the air.
4. No standing in line. That’s gone, except for virtual lines on the telephone. Don’t miss that.
5. No lunches or dinners with people you “need” to be with but don’t really like and no going to weddings out of social obligation. Corona has killed that. (Ditto for getting together with people you do like, but you can meet them virtually.)
6. No more existential angst. Because I’m creative, I experience painful stretches in between projects when I’m not sure where I’m going next. Miraculously, the corona bubble has kicked my creative muscles into high gear and that lost feeling is gone.
7. No more guilt about spending time on things that don’t earn money. That inner voice telling me that it’s silly for a grownup to be in a choir, do arts and crafts or watch comedy videos is gone. These days digging into arts and crafts, music and comedy are survival tools.
8. My prayers aren’t boring anymore. I struggle with formal prayer. In the Jewish religion, prayers are long, many pages, the same thing every day, but since this situation has started, I’ve been discovering new meaning in the same old words. Every day something new pops up at me and I’m grateful for that.
9. YouTube. Before this crisis I thought YouTubers were stupid. Now I’ve come to appreciate anyone who cares enough to post a YouTube video to help us cope. Thanks to the CDC for their Beatles parody, the aging boomers who took off on “Homeward Bound” even the Saudi Arabians with their short film demonstrating corona etiquette.
10. Humanity. I’ve come to appreciate strangers I pass on the empty streets. Yesterday, I exchanged greetings with a hijab-wearing Palestinian woman. It doesn’t matter where they are from, what they look like or what they believe, I connect with all other humans who are sharing this planet during this challenging time. Think of it – there are no wars going on now. Everyone is hunkered down at home. Perhaps this plague will be the prelude to world peace.