Cancer & the Coronavirus Chronicles

This is no laughing matter, oooooor is it?  Let me think, cause it’s bad enough we have cancer, now we have to worry about getting Coronavirus.  We I’ll I am here to tell you – YOU ARE NOT ALONE- even though technically we should be.

I live in a suburb of NYC – and I began to self-isolate (work from home) on Thursday of last week.  Our kids are still in Florida – Tampa to be exact – because we think it is still safer for them to be there than it is here.  So, it is just my husband and I; oh and, Nelly the Tibetan Terrier.  (Full Disclosure – she’s my favorite).  For those that have worked from home before, I give you credit – because it doesn’t really play to my skillset – or my ADD – I am working on new ways to sit still long enough to complete 1 email.  Most people sit in a quiet area – away from distractions….I crave them.; distractions that is. Take this morning for example – I stumbled upon a few funny “corona” related posts – so mid email to my boss, I had to stop and send them out to friends.  Why? You may wonder….Above else – keeping sprits up during this crisis is key, it’s kind of what I do.…I always like to make sure everyone else is ok.

Now, let me get to my kids for a moment.  Matthew and Alissa are the loves of my life – they are also the reason I went gray at 38.  Well that is a total lie, I went gray after I lost my hair the last time I had cancer.  My hair came in a pretty cool silver so I kept it – but for the purpose of this blog – they are the cause!!!!!   As I mentioned they are both in Florida.  They are Juniors at the University of Tampa.  Yes, I have twins.  And double the fun doesn’t really apply in the Coronavirus Era.  More like double the Angst.  Both live in off campus housing; and no, not together because why should they make it easy on their Mother.  Frankly, having them there has both pros and cons. 

Now that obsessing about my kids and what they are doing in Florida has taken up a few hours of my Sunday, I will have to focus on what I can do to fill the remaining hours.  We found Boggle in the basement, along with Othello, Scrabble and 5 different 500-piece puzzles.   So, activity wise, I am okay. Then I saw that The Zac Brown Band is giving a free concert Instagram Live at 8pm; At 7 pm Broadway.com has a live show and at 5:30 David Foster and Katherine McPhee have something online.  Afterwards I got a few texts from my friends laughing about what they accomplished today:  One cleaned the drain in her dishwasher and another cleaned out closets and cabinets.  I was inspired.  I am going to be productive. And then I stopped. I thought about it and realized – if I do that today, what will I do tomorrow?

So here is my take away for today:  This has to be the weirdest and scariest time of my generation.  I am somewhat proud by my calm.  (Full disclosure I did have a wee freak out last Thursday). But I guess having Lung Cancer and self-isolating at home I have to choose where to put my energy.  Frankly, I prefer to put it into finding funny things every day.  Finding the one thing or few things that make me laugh.  Finding a reason to say – “Today is going to be a good day” – or as good a day as it can be without leaving the house.  Knowing that this Will Be OK in time!  And believing that even with all the negative – I can and will find something funny that will truly brighten my day and then share it with my friends, family and followers; which will, in turn, brighten their day.

So, I end today’s blog with something I hope will make you smile – I know I do every time I look at her!

Be safe, stay in, breathe deep and smile brightly, and believe that soon Corona will once again be synonymous with really mediocre beer!

Carol. @funnycancermom