As many of you already know, I raised a son who has some major special needs. I found that the best way for me to maintain a positive outlook so that I could do my best for him and for myself was to focus on the silver linings of our situation; often the clouds covered the sky and the linings were nanoscopic.

Right now, the coronavirus cloud blankets the entire world and its silver lining is yactoscopic. It is easy to get caught up in worry and negative thoughts. I am guessing I am not alone in not sleeping as well these days as I used to do. I have therefore decided to try to find the silver lining in this situation as well. Just to be completely clear: I am not in any way attempting to diminish the severity of the situation; I am merely trying to find thoughts to latch onto to help cope with it.

So without further ado, I am going to start a "Silver Lining List." I encourage others to add to it. Let's see how many silver linings we can find.

Silver Lining List

1) The world is probably more united now than it has ever been at any time in history.

2) As often happens, adversity is bringing out the best in many people. Younger people are volunteering to make grocery runs for older people, for example.

3) People have the time now to do many things they normally don't have the time to do, from home cleaning and maintenance to binge watching their favorite TV shows.

4) A lot of people are reconnecting with old friends and talking more frequently to friends and family.

Stay healthy,
Lynn

Very true.

Us nerds have been practicing for social isolation our whole lives.

Here's one I read about the other night that I never thought of. In some of the places (China and Italy were mentioned) the environment has improved with the decrease in having tourists and citizens out and about. In China, it was mentioned that the normal smog is clearing and people are seeing blue skies. And the canals in Venice have gone from murky to clear as the sediment and whatnot settles, and I think it said fish are returning to the canals. It didn't mention other places, but, to be fair, places like the United States are a bit behind in locking down and sheltering in place. I'm curious and eager to see how much the overall planet's health might improve as we temporarily slow down.

Annie, thanks for your post. I had been nervous about my original post -- While I did everything I could in it to avoid giving offense, I had still been hesitant to post it for fear of it upsetting someone. Your post was the first reassurance that it would be taken in the spirit in which it was intended.

DCarson, good point! And I've long suspected that I have a mild case of autism to boot; in a situation such as this, it proves to be useful.

Deadly Chakram, I hadn't heard that, but it makes sense. Thanks for adding to the list.

Be well,
Lynn

I find that I am enjoying all the down time with my kids. I hadn't realized how grown-up my 7-year-old daughter has become. I've also figured out how to get her to follow directions quickly (though, I'll admit it does involve gummi bears...). And I spent an hour on the phone with a friend I haven't seen in months. We both needed some time to decompress.

Focusing on the positive is something that I usually do, but in my stressed out state I hadn't spent much time thinking about it. Thank you, Lynn.

There are some studies that estimate that the decrease in pollution in China has saved more lives then the epidemic cost there. Probably not true elsewhere, China has poor pollution regulation.

This is a time to slow down and reconnect. Rather than writing stories or knitting I have been writing letters to friends and distant family. Getting stationary in the mailbox is so much more fun that junk mail and bills.

Morgana, that's a great idea. I'm going to do some writing myself and watch less TV.

Lynn, I think you're right about #1. I just wish the US Congress could read your list.

And thank you, both for thinking about this and for posting it.

I'm trying to keep my news feeds to the minimum right now. There are some who are using this crisis to hammer home their opinions and clobber their opponents. I think it will backfire on them before too much longer - we do have a national election coming up this November.

dcarson, I had not heard about the pollution reduction saving that many lives in China, but it makes sense. I probably hadn't heard because of my self-limiting news input. Even in good times, it tends to depress and irritate me. I find that as I get older, I have less tolerance for stupid.

Thanks, y'all. It's good to hear from all of you and know you're coping. Stay healthy!

Hi Terry,

Relatively speaking, even Congress is getting its act together; i.e., there is less bipartisan bickering now than usual. Of course, there is still a lot of room for improvement in that area.

I'll add another item to the list. This new one is very true for me; I am guessing it may be true for others as well: I am finding myself appreciating simple things a lot more. For example, I find myself taking deep breaths several times a day and just appreciating NOT coughing while doing so.

Be well,
Lynn

So our first week and a half at home began with me freaking out about everything, but once I was able to convince myself I was just on spring break, everything was fine. As a family, we aren't the most social people in the world so staying home and doing our own thing is not out of the ordinary for us. Being the shopper in the family, I was the one to see the empty shelves and worry about whether I'd be able to get everything we need. Good news is I was able to get everything we need every time I've gone shopping. And today, with the exception of the toilet paper aisle and the very low numbers of people present, shopping was pretty normal.

Right now my silver lining is my kids. My son, who can still hop on his video games and spend time with friends just like he would every day after school, is doing fine and even taking breaks to play with his little sister. My daughter, who is one of the most loving people I've ever known, misses her friends, but showers me with hugs every day. I haven't laughed so much with them since last summer (since the school year is always so busy).

Spring break is over now and we start learning at home (I can't really bring myself to call it homeschooling because I'm not being my kids' teachers) on Monday. I'm a teacher, so I also start teaching from home - that's going to be fun. I'm actually looking forward to it. I realize some of my students aren't going to do anything, some will get stuck and not ask for help, some will be fine. But I will hold "office hours" where I broadcast live on YouTube and answer questions. I'm planning on doing interesting things (like practice the piano or play with my baby chicks) while I wait for questions, and hope to connect with my students on a new level.

Plus we made brownies and tomorrow we make cookies

I found a slightly different way to look at it. Here's what Randall Munro, creator of the XKCD comic, put out this week.

Really different. Maybe he's onto something.

Hi Terry,

Thanks for that much needed day brightener. Let's defeat the enemy -- one strand of spaghetti at a time!

Be well,
Lynn

I would like to add that I have certainly gained a new perspective regarding the small luxuries in life. Like sitting in a coffee shop and enjoing a good cup of coffee. Like meeting friends in real life. Like giving someone than your immediate familiy a hug. Like breathing fresh air, when you take off your mask.

I hope I'm never going to take any of those things for granted again.