When it all falls, when it all falls down

Dear future hubster,

since half of the world has already gone into lockdown and it's only a matter of time till the other half follows suit, we've heard truckload of advice on what to do and what not to do.

Take care of the elderly. But preferably from a distance. Don't wear a mask, unless. Don't go outside, but stay healthy. Preferably active. Wash your hands and clean your phone and if you have a spouse and 4 or more children then sorry but somebody will have to leave. Get used to it but also don't give in. Find healthy coping mechanisms - which I'm afraid my neighbour thinks includes constant singing, and unfortunately they are not a good singer and our bathrooms are spookily connected so I can hear them through the pipes. What is healthy for one might be mildly unpleasant for the other.

However. When you do all of those things and cook your increasingly boring meals and drink your coping mechanism liquor and watch all the documentaries available and call into work meetings in PJs, here's one request.

Think about those who are alone. Not sick, not old, not out of toilet paper, just by definition of social distancing, alone. 

I know we all think this is an introvert paradise, and it is, with all the don't go anywhere and don't talk to anybody, and we get to read all the books we've been eyeing, and watch all the shows and write all the PhD applications, but it turns out that even introverts like to decide when they want to withdraw. More importantly, they need to withdraw and be by themselves when they've had too much interaction and stimuli. Now "too much" might mean something else for every introvert, but on average it's more than zero. 

So when you feel like it's day 200 of home office when in reality it's been only 2, or when your flatmate, parent, significant other, stranded stranger gets on your nerves, check on your party-poopers, bookworms, dinner party hosts, social butterflies. The world is a crazy place right now, and nobody knows what, how, and when next. It's a lot to handle for everybody, and sometimes it could be just a little bit too much to handle it alone.

So send your borderline bad taste memes, call the people you normally don't when you think about them, drop a line, have e-drinks on Fridays, have Skype cooking sessions, watch movies "together", KEEP IN TOUCH. 

Speaking as one of those introverts, I can tell you, that's what I miss already. Touching, poking, nudging people. 

And once this is all over, I'm going to hug the living hell out of everybody who lets me. Ok maybe only those I actually know. 

Until then, I'll be very happy to receive your penguin (cat, llama, hippo) videos.