“Now, I try to branch out again. Make new connections. Go to new events. Make my community bigger, even though I much prefer my couch to a crowd.
New friends, new scenes, new classes. Find that fire again. Live life to the fullest once more.”
~My last post
Well, it was a good try…
And then the world came crashing down, and I got my preference for the couch, instead of trying new things in the crowd. I got Stay at Home and Quarantine. (And I learned how to spell quarantine.) We’ve gotten a pandemic reminiscent of the Spanish Flu of 1918.
I’m alright, though. Sad, for sure, but I was just attending these events. The presenters, the artists and crafters, the convention runners and staff, the hotels. They all lost big with Spring being cancelled. So, friends, take a look at their pages, their Etsy, their Patreon, and their Ko-Fi. Support the creators, if you can, like you would have at the conventions. And if their stuff is too risqué for those sites, message them on Fetlife about how you can support them.
But life isn’t just conventions. It is also work and food and relationships. And all of that has been disrupted, too. Many friends are out of work. Many now work from home, like me. Many are the newly dubbed ‘essential’ class, who must continue going out into the world. Risking their lives to provide us food, to keep us safe, to keep us healthy. In all manner and variety of ways. The rest of us are called to Stay At Home, unless we are heading out for those essential things.
I don’t toss around the term Solo Poly very much, but it is my truth right now. I live alone. My two boyfriends live with other partners. The other day, I realized I don’t have a single other living thing in my apartment. Not even a cactus or a flower. (The only thing I ever planted as a kid was a cactus that refused to die for decades, but my parents have it if it still lives.) I am alone through all of this.
But I’m not. Not Really. Monday night dinners have become Zoom dinners. Friday night dinners with friends have become WebEx dinners. DnD night has become Hangouts DnD. We have so much technology to connect us. I’ve attended art cons and a wedding on Twitch. I went to a party last night on Zoom with a dance floor provided by Twitch. I even have therapy sessions over a HIPAA approved version of Zoom.
We’re all in this together. Reach out, by phone or by internet. I know it sucks to be trapped in the same four walls, but you can do it. And it will save lives, maybe yours, maybe someone you love. Please, for the Love of all that is (un)Holy. Stay Home unless you need food or medical care.
