One of the topics on my list for future blog posts is how retirees can ward off isolation by getting out for one activity a day. It requires planning. I check through Chicago Greeter tour requests and schedules of museum free days, movies, and other happenings to fill in the next month’s calendar.

My calendar now has blank spaces where appointments used to be.

One by one last Thursday and Friday, nearly every outing I planned for the next month was cancelled because of the coronavirus. Chicago Greeter tours, Goodman Theatre ushering, events at the Art Institute and the Newberry Library, Smithsonian Museum Day, and church services have been suspended. I can’t even visit my mother, a recent widow. The assisted living home where she lives has locked its doors to all visitors except for emergencies.

All of us are in this boat, of course. Instead of deciding where to go, we’re figuring out what to do indoors.

A couple of friends said they’ll tackle spring cleaning. Despite having the time, I’m going to stick with my plan to hire someone to deep clean the kitchen and the bathroom. In the current state of affairs, self-indulgence seems more apropos than chores.

Along those lines, I doubt that at this time I’ll continue the household purge that I wrote about last week. I’d finished a first pass of the whole condo, gaining a sense of completion that I want to bask in for a while.

The only self-discipline I might muster would be to resume 15 minutes of yoga and weightlifting on alternate days. That would be a kindness to myself.

Otherwise, I’m thinking about pleasant activities like these:

• Read a long book or several.

• Watch some of the movies I’ve recorded.

• Put together the Jane Austen puzzle a friend gave me.

• Cook more elaborate meals than I normally make for myself.

• Call friends. We still need social contact.

• Call my mother frequently.

• Research what podcasts I might like to listen to so that I have a list for bus trips when I can visit my mother again.

• Check into what’s available on PBS Passport and watch programs and series that interest me.

* Set aside spiritual time, especially because church is closed.

• Plan a vacation.

The above bullet points are not a checklist. Nothing there, except calling my mother, is a must do. They’re simply ideas in case cabin fever sets in.

That large-group activities are suspended doesn’t mean healthy people have to hibernate every minute. I can still go out for a walk and get together with a friend for tea or a meal. I can still grocery shop, although the supermarket shelves may be bare.

My friend Sandie and I intend to continue weekly Scrabble at the Harold Washington Library, which remains open. I hope my book and pinochle groups will be able to keep our April meeting dates.

One thing I hope not to do is check the coronavirus news multiple times a day.

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THE ISOLATION OF THE ELDERLY IN COMMUNAL HOMES

For most of us, coronavirus will end up being an inconvenience. But for people whose income is cut, who are scrambling to arrange childcare, who contract the disease, it is more serious. In that category I would put elderly people in nursing homes and retirement communities — because they are vulnerable to two conditions, the coronavirus disease and social isolation.

My 92-year-old mother, who lives in an assisted living home, lost her husband less than three months ago. Not being able to see her four children is a bitter blow while her grief is still raw. The best thing you can do for a grieving person is to be there, and for the indefinite future, “there” for us is going to mean on the telephone.

The restrictions are prudent. Twenty-seven coronavirus deaths in King County, Washington, have been linked to a single nursing home. The elderly and people who are already unhealthy are the most susceptible to the virus.

My mom’s residence has cancelled performances, church services, and other events for which outsiders would come in. So far activities led by staff are still happening, and residents can continue eating in the dining room. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that some social activities can continue.

Until the doors reopen, we’ve resolved to call even more than before.

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ANTI-TRUMP QUOTATIONS: 104TH IN AN ONGOING SERIES

“It has taken a good deal longer than it should have, but Americans have now seen the con man behind the curtain.”
— Peter Wehner, The Atlantic