I So Late

During my second week of my stay(-in)-cation, the bad news around the SARS-Cov-2 virus didn't let up. In addition to 3 digital newspapers covering Toronto, Ottawa, and Montréal, I started reading a few from the U.S. Things were even less encouraging south of the border. For more light-hearted fare, I was averaging about a novel every 2 days and 1-2 episodes of online shows daily.

I became lax with my exercise routines. Living in a sleepier neighbourhood, I didn't feel much motivation to take walks as this urban landscape lacked any interesting features. My mom's 30-year-old apartment was a tight space for 2 people so there was little room for me to do Yoga as a self-practice or part of an online class. 3 weeks in and I was already breathing harder walking up a few floors.

So although I have a week of remote work coming up, I wonder if I should return to Toronto as scheduled. With teleworking, it makes no difference where I reside but having access to familiar locations including parks and grocery stores may re-establish some semblance of normalcy as the lock-down continues.

I still have a job even if my company has implemented a 4-day work week with a corresponding 20% pay reduction. But others weren't so lucky. A friend, a sole proprietor of an RMT business, was struggling to find income. They were afraid to ask for a mortgage deferral as it was coming up for renewal in August. Furthermore, frightened to venture outside and avoiding supermarkets, they've spent 3 weeks eating canned food, potatoes, and dried goods without much fresh fruit and vegetables.

Meanwhile, arguments were erupting in their extended families over unpaid bills. Newspaper articles have spotlighted people with precarious finances. Upper middle-class families might be building resiliency, re-discovering family activities, and participating in uplifting neighbourhood projects, but for many people there are no upsides nor is this isolation an opportunity for "personal growth".