Thursday Thirteen

We are, allegedly, out of the Covid pandemic and into the endemic stage of the virus. That means we get to learn to live with it.

I know the pandemic changed many things for a lot of people. Some people changed nothing about their lives, but I suspect most everyone was affected in one way or another.

Here are 13 things that I have changed, modified, or otherwise fixed or broken since 2020:

1. I no longer bite my nails. This is one of the biggest changes for me. I stopped biting them almost as soon as the government shut down. At that time, remember, even though I assumed the virus was transmitted through air, there was much concern that it was transmitted via touch as well. Remember wiping off the groceries with a Clorox wipe? I stopped biting my nails *snap* almost just like that. I keep them trimmed very short and they will never be lovely nails because of so much damage to the nail bed from biting them for 57 years of my life, but I have stopped biting them.

2. I wash my hands. A lot. I wash my hands the minute I walk into the door if I have been somewhere. If I've been to the grocery store, I wash my hands and then empty the car, put the groceries away, and wash my hands again. 

3. I have inside sneakers and outside sneakers. I used to wear my shoes everywhere, but now I have a pair that (mostly) stays in the house, and another pair out in the garage that I wear when I go to the store or whatever. I think this has helped cut down on debris in the house and dust and dirt on the floor. My husband also no longer wears his outside shoes in the house.

4. I use hand purifier in the car every time I get in it. Go to the store, get in the car, use hand cleaner. 

5. When I gas up the car, I use a tissue or something to hold on to the handle and touch buttons.

6. I still wear a mask in the stores, especially if they are busy. I am generally the only person in the store with a mask, but not always. I may go in a store without a mask if it's a quick stop and there aren't a lot of cars in the parking lot, but I always have a mask with me and if I start to feel like an aisle is getting crowded, I won't hesitate to put one on.

7. I have not been sick (for me, anyway), since 2020. I used to have bronchitis, pneumonia, sore throats - constant colds and allergies. Staying isolated and masking has kept me well, aside from an occasional asthma attack and constant post-nasal drip. I used to get so sick about twice a year that I spent a month in bed, usually in March and again in the fall. Not so now.

8. We eat more home cooking, although I dislike cooking. Our meals are not fancy, and they are rather bland and boring, but we eat in a lot more than we eat out these days. And if we eat out, we generally pick it up and bring it home. I think I've eaten in a restaurant maybe six times in the last three years.

9. My ulcers returned. I lost 20 pounds, and I kept 15 of it off. The other 5 pounds keeps coming and going, but maybe I will one day get a grip on that.

10. I stopped exercising, which was a huge mistake, and the scar tissue issue in my abdomen has increased, along with low back pain, mid-back pain, and my TMJ issues. It's all related, somehow or another.

11. My husband retired. He was a battalion chief with the fire department and just coming off of an ankle fusion when the pandemic hit and things shut down. He was eligible to take his retirement and did so. His reasons were many. This was a huge adjustment for me. He seemed to do fine with it, though he missed "his guys." I missed my long nights of book reading, but we've about adjusted. I think.

12. I spent more time playing the guitar. I haven't necessarily gotten better, but I haven't gotten any worse, either.

13. My car, which is 9.5 years old, only has 60k miles on it, mostly because I don't go anywhere anymore. I think it will be with me for some time.

How about you? Did you make life changes in the last 3 years?

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 831st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.