Pandemic Flatulence. This is my new (uncopyrighted) term. I coined it to explain the dramatic increase in what we used to call casual brain farts. I was beginning to think the world had gone mad. Until it happened to me. Suddenly it all makes sense.
July 6th, hubby and I embarked on the long drive to see his Mother. She’s 94, we’ve not seen her in a year and a half, and we think we are fully prepared for the ten-hour car ride to the little town of 700 in Northern Ontario.
Gotta admit, not having travelled in 18 months does cause the brain cells to stop when it comes to what to pack. (I am not a list person, and having spent many years travelling for business, I thought I had mastered the art of packing.) Wrong!
It took me three whole days to figure out exactly what to pack. Clothes, dogs, bathroom stuff, dogs paraphernalia, computer and work files, food and meal stuff for all of us, etc. etc. etc. Three days to figure out what to take for an 8-day stay.
I forgot my toothbrush, my socks and the mouse for my laptop. The first two items were easily fixable. Not having a mouse was not. Suddenly what used to take 30 minutes now took 3 hours. And all my plans for being productive in a tiny out-of-the-way village fell apart.
Returning home
After eight very long days, packing up should be better, right? Wrong. We arrive home and realize the laptop’s power cord is still up north. Then we get a note that the new computer due to arrive in three days is delayed for an entire month, maybe more.
Need that power cord for the ancient laptop. Ask Mom to courier it soonest to us.
After spending $100 for overnight delivery and extra insurance because the item is so important, the power cord ends up in the lost and found. Apparently, something is wrong with the address details. We can get those details after the weekend passes and the office opens at 9:30 on Monday.
This is NOT the result of 94-year-old forgetfulness. Before March of 2019, every single item Mom sent us arrived by the straightest and most direct path possible. Every single time. Yet over the last eighteen months — she sent us three separate things. None of which made a direct path to our place. Naturally, I forgot about them when I was giving her directions for the courier!
I fear pandemic flatulence will be with us for a long time
Not one of us is going to have our heads perfectly on straight for a while. Even those of us who are normally ‘with it’ have periods of stupid human tricks. This occurs personally AND professionally both in families and in workspaces. There is no quick anecdote. Every person is going thru a strange personal battle to get to the other side. Our fuses are short, our tempers flare, and we are all easily triggered.
There are two things we can all do immediately. Show empathy. Freely give compassion and kindness.
See, our family, friends, and workspaces are looking at US to model the right behaviour. And empathy, compassion and kindness are the best medicines for today and likely a few tomorrows.
Interested in adding an extra serving in your world? Call me and let’s discuss how to make it all work for you.
