Learning Something New During COVID
Learning Something New During COVID
Lots of simple every day things became very complicated last year. For most people, this meant learning something new during COVID. We had to plan in detail how to get groceries. The home became a classroom with the teacher on a computer. How could we be with family and friends without being with them?
As a senior citizen, the world seemed to change completely. Sure cell phones and computers were already the norm for many seniors. But, we had to learn a new way to use them.
We may not have liked it, but platforms like Facetime and Skype were the only way for us to see each other. There was always one member of the family who had trouble with the technology. “Can you hear me?” “Now I can’t see you.” “Put the dog outside so she won’t bark.”
“You’re muted. Unmute yourself.” was commonly said even though the other person couldn’t hear because they were muted. Exaggerated facial expressions, pointing fingers down, lip reading and far too close close-ups made a strange experience fun.
The normal activities of life changed so that we were all learning something new during COVID.
Face Masks and Social Distancing
I remember, early on during the Pandemic, being worried about going out my front door. The backyard seemed okay, but I was nervous about being in the front yard. Face masks and social distancing in public were part of learning new things during COVID. My face mask always made my glasses fog so I always took the glasses off inside. I was in less danger from COVID while wearing the face mask, but in more danger of tripping because I couldn’t see. Store lines seemed longer standing further apart. Shopping took longer because I couldn’t see. But, these two simple precautions have helped everyone. I like the social distancing anyway. I am getting used to the mask.
New Adventures
COVID restrictions prevented meetings. This included gathering for church. As a priest, I had to figure out how to provide worship online with music, readers, intercessors and others while completely by myself. This new adventure meant bringing the internet into the church. Webcams were set up here and there. I learned a streaming program to allow for switching camera shots and streamed live participants.
Old equipment pieced together worked to bring people together while still in their homes. There were lots of glitches but services were held in an empty church.
From this experience, my wife and I have started a Youtube channel about our lives together as senior citizens. The channel is new. We don’t really know what we’re doing yet. We’re not too exciting. But we are having fun.
Keeping Doing What You Learned
Whether you started walking to beat the boredom or tried cooking for the first time during COVID, I suggest that you keep doing that new thing. Of all the things you could have started during COVID this is what you chose. There must have been a reason. By now, you are probably pretty good at it. I suggest you keep doing it. Not only that, I suggest that you try something new.
Hey a great read! You are totally right covid changed a lot of things, some fo the better and some not so much.
I feel like we learnt quite a lot whilst being stuck indoors, our imaginations came alive. It’s also crazy to see how some businesses failed but at the same time some of them saw a new opportunity and it changed their lives for the better. As long as we’re fine and well, we could find a little joy in this odd situation.
Most of the restaurants around here created outdoor space to stay open during COVID and have kept it. Its nice to eat outside in the evening. Some new things did happen during COVID. Thanks for leaving the comment.
This article just gave me the deja Vu feeling and I got to have all those nice memories about COVID times, COVID was really a turn in humanity and lockdown showed us a different part of life that we weren’t used to. Thanks for this article, it was really nice and spot on
I totally agree. Much of the different view of life that we saw during Covid needs to continue for peace of mind and for the health of the planet. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I totally agree with this blog post on learning something new during Covid. It is not just during lockdowns that one should keep busy, but as you said: keep doing what you are doing. If you are good at it and you like what you are doing? Why not, right? I have started to work out more and I learned to love doing it and it got to be a healthy habbit!
We have continued doing a lot of the things that we started during Covid. We zoomed with family members rather than talking on the phone and that has continued. Why we didn’t think of it before the pandemic I don’t know. Thanks for reading and commenting on the article.
Interesting blog. First of all, I learned to do most of my shopping online, which takes me much less time than before. I didn’t like shopping, so this is good for me. I communicated more with lifelong friends with whom I had lost touch. Which I liked again. And I continued working on my site, work that I started before the pandemic. It is good to see the positive side of the new things we need to learn in a pandemic. This keeps our minds awake and keeps us from losing hope. Carmen
I agree. There are a lot of things that we did because of the pandemic which is really added to our lives. For some reason with family that’s relatively close by before the pandemic we met basically on holidays. During the pandemic, we frequently zoomed which was a lot of fun. Now we’re staying a better communication. Thanks for taking the time to read the article and comment.
Hi James,
Nice site! Lots of great tips! Covid sure has changed things, sometimes you have to wonder if things will ever get back to normal. Is our new normal always going to be with masks? I remember seeing pictures of citizens in other countries for years, always wearing masks! It seems like now that is our new normal too! I don’t like that part of this new world we live in. Alas, we have to take the bad with the good. It seems you and your wife have found a lot of good in this new age we live in, good for you! My husband and I have had to do much of the same. Doing additional tasks ourselves. This past summer I got comfortable using a Sawzall to trim branches. We had an awful lot of tree limbs come down last winter. The clean-up process was weeks long! Thank you for sharing your stories!
Despite the circumstances, we made the best of it and have grown closer together and learned a few new things. My wife, also, used a saws all for the first time this year. Thanks for commenting.
Despite all the bad that has come along with the COVID pandemic, there are a lot of good things about society, and people in general, that we all learned; we are still adaptive.
There are many new ways to earn a living, and a lot of people and businesses realized that having work from home can be a better investment than having everyone come in to get work done. We have inadvertently changed what was considered “normal” in the workplace and made something brand-new!
You literally can’t keep us down. We are connected more now than we have ever been, and that can be a very beautiful thing. Knowledge is at our fingertips and this little push was exactly what a lot of people needed to make the adjustments to meet the demands of 2020 and beyond.
I totally agree. Much of what I have done during the COVID era I would not have tried had I felt comfortable hiring someone or bringing in friends to help. The adjustments will likely make us stronger. Thanks for commenting.
The strange thing that happened to me was that nothing much changed. I was already retired and worked from home on my websites. My income from retirement was steady and that was it. I do however understand the agony of other people, not going to work or school, less income or even none. It was a bad time for many.
I appreciate the way you have coped with the situation, especially as to what you did to keep your church moving on. And as they say, for every problem that comes there will be new opportunities! Well done!
I learned more about producing videos that I ever wanted to. But, you are right. Problems can bring opportunities. Thanks for taking the time to read this article and comment.
I agree with you that we started doing new things that we would have never done during COVID-19. And once we learned them, they will stay with us forever. For example, I started blogging during the lockdown. And at first, it was challenging. But as time has gone by, it has become a part of my daily life.
That’s a great example of how COVID, despite the negative impact, did cause some positive things to happen. Thanks for your comment. Keep blogging.
Very informative and helpful article. I had a great time reading it. Many people do not know what to do during the pandemic. They just sit at home all day doing nothing and gaining weight haha. This article will definitely remind them that there is more to the world than just sitting at home doing nothing
We’re glad that we can move beyond our home particularly since we can visit grandkids, but the chance to stop running for awhile was nice. Thanks for reading the article and commenting.
Thank you for sharing your insights about the things you’ve learned during Covid. As a member of a congregation, I was grateful for those who made it possible to still do church online. One of the big things that I learned during Covid is the value of face-to-face interactions. I am a schoolteacher and I found that trying to teach kids online is a very difficult task, and it’s not nearly as effective as interacting face-to-face. Fortunately our state was able to do in person school last school year so we only had to try the online system for a few months. When we do without for a time our gratitude for what we have significantly increases.
The dynamics of what happens in a classroom are so complex and important that simply reacting to a computer cannot possibly duplicate the experience. We are back to face to face learning as well. Thanks for taking the time to read this little article.