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Heartache in the Time of Corona
We sure picked one hell of a time to separate, didn’t we?
I’ve read all the tips and how-to’s of recovering from heartbreak. And they are all exponentially more difficult in our time of social distancing.
Get out of the house and be around people. The best I can do is go for a walk, or drive and take a walk somewhere else. Also it’s very cold and windy and nasty out today so I’d prefer not to go outside.
And being around people is exactly what we’re not supposed to do. For my physical safety, I am supposed to stay home, alone, avoid all contact.
For my mental and emotional state, I am supposed to surround myself with others, friends or strangers. Health and public safety win out, of course.
But recovering from a break-up with forced loneliness and isolation is becoming a burden that grows more difficult to carry by the day.
Getting used to being alone is never easy. But becoming single while simultaneously sheltering in place indefinitely feels like a punishment, as if I’ve been a castaway, set aside for my sins of failing as a partner, friend and lover.
In the last week I didn’t just break up with a lover. I, like the rest of the world, broke up with normalcy.
