Like most people, my job has been greatly affected by Covid-19. Our office closed in mid-March, reopened in mid-June only to close again two weeks ago. I am still getting paid and I do what I can from home. While I love working for a local nonprofit, the disruption in our programming due to the coronavirus has given me a lot of time to write.
During this time I completed my poetry book and submitted the final manuscript to the publisher back in July.
I have been working on other projects — a series of essays on being on atheist with a mental illness and a collection of letters to my daughter of lessons from a secular childhood. I also started writing a chapbook of erotic poetry. There’s just so much I want to do.
I don’t know if I’ll end up having a job at the end of this pandemic, but I feel I have to live in the moment and take advantage of every free minute I have to write and explore new projects. When will I ever have an opportunity like this again?
The seriousness of the situation is not lost on me. I barely leave the house and when I do I always have a mask on. The thought of possibly losing my job is always in the back of my mind.
But right now I just want to write.
Has anyone else picked up some new projects during the pandemic?
With all the kids now out of the house and time on my hands, during the pandemic I rediscovered my love of cooking. The creativity appeals to me; how many ways can I use X ingredients?
I also spent more time in meditation and more time taking the dog on endless walks.
This all backfired because now I’m back to work fulltime and struggling with not having the time to do the life-enriching activities.