Pandemic Life Lessons

Play to Listen:

(Or How I Learned to Embrace What I See on Television Without Losing My Mind)

I have watched a lot of television this past year — which led me to realize the following pandemic life lessons:

1. I will not be shamed into believing that my dog is mistreated because I feed her brand-name dog kibble. She loves her “highly processed, burnt brown balls” and this brand was recommended by her vet. Sure, it would be great if I cooked healthy food for her or bought fresh-made precisely portioned meals for her, but I have enough trouble putting dinner on the table for the humans in the household. Besides, we adopted her from a rescue shelter, we take good care of her, she is very happy eating whatever she finds inside and out, and she is living a good life compared to most dogs! When she starts complaining, I’ll start listening!
2. I will not take prescription medications that I know I am allergic to. Have you noticed that every advertised prescription medication starts the warnings by telling you to not take it if you are allergic to it or any of its components? As a person with many allergies, I can honestly state that I try to avoid all things I am allergic to, however, it is often impossible to know if you are allergic until you have already come in contact with it. Additionally, have you ever tried to read the list of what makes up prescription medications? Forget about it! Thankfully, I don’t need most of what is advertised so I’m not going to needlessly worry about being allergic to any of it.
3. I’ve accepted that my definition of what is acceptable for a child to watch is outdated. I’ve previously written about my desire to bring back family television. Well, never mind! While I still disagree, I’ve developed a greater appreciation for those parents who proudly declare, “we don’t watch television!” Between the foul language, adult-oriented commercials, and teen-centered romantic situations prevalent in broadcast and streaming content, there’s little hope of shielding your child. Don’t even get me started about YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc. My new approach is to discuss instead of trying to avoid.
4. I’ve decided that reality television is like crack cocaine. I admit it. I’ve allowed myself to get sucked into a select few reality TV shows. It’s not healthy, and I don’t recommend it, but giving it up is hard. The shows just latch on to some deep-seated instinctive need we have to be distracted. I try to watch something more “deep” but I hear the reality show just calling to me. I need to go cold turkey and ban “Below Decks” from my schedule. BTW, I’ve never used crack cocaine.
5. I will not take supplements claiming to improve my memory, even if I could remember to take them. There is a particular supplement running commercials everywhere that claims to improve your memory — you know what I’m talking about unless you’ve forgotten. I don’t buy it — both literally and figuratively. First, jellyfish don’t strike me as creatures with good memories. Second, I can’t pronounce the primary ingredient even with the provided pronunciation guide: apoaequorin (pron. ‘a-po-ah-kwor-in’). I refuse to submit — I’ll just deal with my age-related declining memory in my own way — whatever that is. I can’t remember.

These Pandemic Life Lessons Will Not Change Your Life

I promised when I started this blog that it would reflect my personality. Friends describe me as irreverent, cynical, negative, humorous (at times), overly logical, and often hysterical – as in “nuts”. This article captures many of those characteristics! I feel good knowing that I can share my thoughts with the world. As I tried to explain to my 13-year-old daughter — I’m not lecturing, I’m imparting wisdom! Enjoy these Pandemic Life Lessons and share some of your own.

I’m not putting any advertising on this blog or my other blog, Caring For a Spouse. I hope that if you appreciate my efforts, you’ll buy me a coffee through my ko-fi account. Simple and safe, any small contribution helps me offset the cost of hosting, etc. And it’s all virtual so we’re automatically social distancing!