It’s been a really weird week. Yes, it has seemed like a month.
One of the coolest things that has happened over the past week is the growing sense of community. Forget what you see on cable news (which you shouldn’t be watching anyway), it’s times like these that bring out the best in people. I have seen so many generous offers over the past week…from landlords working with tenants, to churches reaching out, to grocery stores accommodating different age demographics, to the Atlanta mayor allowing to-go alcoholic beverages. Big props to everyone. Seriously – I have gotten so many great messages from readers…I love you guys. I don’t have to say this, but let’s keep up the good work.
So the intent of this post is to think about what you can do. And I mean that across the board…not just financially, but also mentally, creatively, and spiritually. Of course this depends on your means and abilities. Here are a few ideas on what you can be doing during this time:
1. Stay clean, and stay safe. Continue to follow all the CDC guidelines.
2. Move around the house. Working from home is tough. I have three spots around the house that I rotate to throughout the day, which provides a nice change of scenery. It breaks up the monotony. I’d recommend the same – but remember your background…video conference calls are becoming more and more common.
3. DO NOT watch too much cable news. This should go without saying. Local news is good, but ugh. I prefer the actual data on the CDC website, as well as our state site.
4. Eat well…but cheat! We haven’t had much trouble at the grocery store. Especially now that everyone seems to get getting into a groove. We usually do meal prep, and buy accordingly. We’ve been focusing on eating clean, and have been doing a pretty good job. There are benefits there, but we did decide to cheat the other night… That double quarter pounder from McDonald’s tasted outstanding. So did the french fries and the milkshake. It was a nice break from the normal.
5. Write a thank you note. The mail is still being delivered! I know quite a bit of you have some good stationary (if you don’t, hit up my man Andrew Lee), so take a few moments from each day and write a thank you note, or just a note to someone or some place that is doing the tough work while a lot of us are stuck at home. You’d be surprised at how far this will go.
6. Support the restaurants. There are quite a few mom and pop restaurants in our neighborhood, and almost all of them have transitioned to the ‘to-go’ model. Please remember these folks when you are meal planning. Go make a big order for dinner (and lunch the next day) and run out to grab it. A lot of them are doing ‘contact-less’ hand-off, removing any human contact. They need patrons now more than ever. And don’t forget to leave a nice fat tip when you pick up the food. Chances are, they need it more than you know.
7. Support small businesses. Most of my partners are small businesses, and I would be remiss if I didn’t give them a plug. Not only are they partners, but they are my friends. From a financial situation, they are all struggling at varying degrees. No one is going out, so no one is visiting the brick and mortar stores. In fact, most of them have shut down. Here’s what I’d suggest: shop online. Go ahead and do some Christmas or birthday shopping. Have you thought about buying a pair of Russell boots? Well, go ahead and order them, and by they time they arrive, hopefully we are out of this mess. How about a Beckbe jacket for this Fall? Onward Reserve is running a 25% off gift card promotion, which would help filling the coffers with some staples. The Sporting Gent is offering 15% off all RCS readers with code RCS15 – which is much appreciated. Ball and Buck is doing a $50 sale that is incredible. The list goes on…but do me a favor and click the boxes on the sidebar. I know the brands will appreciate it, and need your support now more than ever.
8. Get Up and Move. Set aside some time each day to work out or do something active. We have been tying to do some sort of early morning action, with mixed results…but I’m sure we’ll get better as we get more into a groove. Speaking of the groove, make sure you get up and move around each day. Don’t sit around all day, staring at your laptop or scrolling. Go walk around the neighborhood. Play with your dogs. Hit up the Peloton website. Whatever. It’s really good for your physical AND mental health.
9. Stay Connected. Take time each day to get on Facetime (or Zoom, or whatever your video chat app of choice) and talk to a few folks. Not just family, but friends and neighbors. I called a good buddy of mine while he was giving his son a bath, and our boys talked about their bath toys. It was fantastic. It was great for me, but even better for #HJS.
These are just a few ideas on what you can be doing. In the same sense of community, please leave a comment if you have an idea or a suggestion. We’re all in this together…the Red Clay Soul community is made up of so many wonderful people…
I recommend keeping the same daily schedule even when working out of the house. Stay safe everyone.
This may ruffle feathers for some – and I half-hearted apologize for in advance. The economic fallout is way worse than the virus as it stands currently. The death toll is lower than originally expected and the common flu currently has a higher death toll. I do not want people to die, but the ones passing are older or have underlying health issues. Those people should be quarantined or allowed do to as they choose with distance/self-isolation. The world needs to go back to work and school. What some kids are missing education wise and how lazy the new generations are this is just more icing on the cake for the future let downs from them and all the free expectations they will feel they are owed. Harsh cases do need ventilators and I think those people need every bit of health they can get, but for most positive cases they recommend rest and some Tylenol. This does not mean we should shut down the economy. Like I said this is my own opinion and I just wanted to vent.
Good post. We’ve decided we will only be supporting local restaurants during this time as so many of them are being hit hard. Our small group from church is also doing zoom calls with each other since we can’t meet in person and I am scheduling a zoom happy hour with some fraternity brothers that are spread throughout the country. The little things add up to keep from going stir crazy.
Ha! I actually like that Zoom Happy Hour idea. I might have to organize one of those myself.