Quarantine is tough. I’m not writing anything the world doesn’t already know. Parents with school age children are saints. Work from home is difficult, at best. Isolation and anxiety are rampant. The streets here in San Diego have often resembled a dystopian movie set. Empty and trafficless. But the lockdown created a unique rhythm to life. A quiet, peaceful cadence also developed on the streets.
As tough as it’s been, there have even been a few bright spots. Some things are even better.
The air got cleaner, crisper: Automobile traffic is a fraction of its normal volume. Within a matter of days air quality improved. You could smell, even taste, the difference.
It’s eerily quiet. Cities are noisy; really, really noisy. With bars, clubs, and restaurants all closed it’s been noticeably muted. In our neighborhood, Friday and Saturday, usually a cacophony of sounds, are exceptionally serene.
Running down the middle of the street: that feeling of going for a run and the streets are your personal track.
Family time: fractioned tribes have migrated back to the roost. Families are taking advantage of forced togetherness. Quality family time is abundant. Nobody is rushing from here to there and back again. The pace has slowed to a crawl. Life is slower, more peaceful.
Quarantine has not been easy, but there have been a few silver linings along the way.
Stay Safe out there. It’s far from over.
