3 secrets to living alone in a pandemic

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Tumult and trauma around the world these days with COVID-19 raging. For many single women and men who don’t have to be out there in frontline jobs (thank you, folks who are), we’re talking alone at home for what we thought would be weeks and now turns out will be months on end. Thank heaven for our technology-assisted telephone and virtual electronic socializing.

How are you coping? Here are a few of my secrets for living alone successfully in a pandemic:

1. Worried about weight gain? Try eating regular doses of bread and pasta. What? Yes, you could’ve knocked me over with a box of spaghetti when I noticed the scale inching down despite not being able to hit the gym. Never expected that.

Normally I try hard not to eat processed carbs, and yet now, doing so seems like an answer to a prayer. Just as I was writing this I relished an afternoon snack of a little chunk of crispy 9-grain garlic bread with creamy melted extra sharp cheddar and some grape tomatoes. Tonight I’m having a big bowl of cavatappi (curly, ridged macaroni-shaped pasta – frankly, I like long noodles better) with jarred marinara sauce (Rao’s works well), speckled with spicy Italian sausage bits, caramelized onions and peppers, and sauteed mushrooms. and frosted with a heap of finely grated imported Parmiggiano-Reggiano. It’s all about balancing your calories and macros (carbs, protein, fat) and tracking your exercise.

2. Position your phone/tablet/laptop or whatever up high enough (a shelf in an open kitchen cabinet works) that you can read free ebooks (Bookbub.com) without bending your neck while you step or march to rockin’ tunes on Pandora. Painless and free way to get your steps in.

3. Play online games with your friends/family. Love that games bring people together without the need to discuss, dissect, dissent, diss or otherwise discombobulate relationships in these fractured times. A friend of mine plays almost every day of the week with her singing group pals multiple rounds of Trivial Pursuit – a game that shows just how pathetically unobservant I am. But a few of us in my family play skribbl.io together each week. One person starts the game, then makes a group call to the rest of us. That’s so we can hear each other laugh at our wonderful drawings and give each other hints (even though that’s not officially allowed). We don’t care about the score. It’s all about laughing and enjoying seeing how others think. Here’s a link to 10 other free online games to consider.

Hope you’re working with a few favorite strategies of your own.

Single Working Women’s Week

If you’re a single working woman, get ready to celebrate your holiday this Sunday August 2 to Saturday, August 8. And there’s also Single Working Women’s Day on August 4. Last year the author of an article talking about this holiday wondered why such a random date for it. I’ll tell you why. The date is the birth date of a particularly vibrant, successful and kind single woman/mother who’s an important part of my life – my younger daughter. Happy upcoming birthday, Perri, and happy Single Working Women’s Day to all you courageous, creative and passionate single women around the world.<

Register to vote. Sign up to vote by mail. And VOTE 2020!!!!

Singles: loving, fearless and free

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Saw a great quote today in my HeartMath daily dose:

“The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your action will be.” ~ Dalai Lama

Gendun Drup, 1st Dalai Lama

Image via Wikipedia

A beautiful thought, indeed. When you listen closely to someone else’s problems, when you respond thoughtfully, when you express understanding without judging or telling them what to do, that’s love at work.

When you respond to a political situation by getting all the facts and looking at both sides before you react, making sure your sources are as unbiased as possible, that’s love at work.

Too many people assume that if a single woman lives alone, she doesn’t love. How wrong that is! There is ample documentation that shows the exact opposite. Singlism expert, Bella DePaulo, says “research shows single people are more connected to friends, siblings, parents, neighbors” than marrieds. Which only makes sense. Human beings are social creatures. When you don’t have just a single person with whom you live and share your life, you’re more likely to reach out to others.

Women in particular tend to create communities of friends, relatives, coworkers, and others to whom they can turn to relax, go adventuring, describe frustrations and joys, discuss ideas and just generally share their lives.

Single men, thanks to powerful strains of homophobia in our society, are a little less likely to develop a strong community of fellow males. But some men have no fear of that kind of judgment and simply go forth, sharing time with male friends, attending men’s groups, and so on.

The point: as love grows, so do our hearts. And as we single women continually reach out with love to others, we also tend to feel more fearless and free—and often look that way to others. I like that idea. ” )

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Living alone means…

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Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist

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Was searching for the source of a quote about how sharing with someone doubles our joys and halves our sorrows (there are so many different sources mentioned that I can’t determine where it actually originated) when I came across this one:

“Having someone wonder where you are when you don’t come home at night is a very old human need.” – Margaret Mead

Reminds me of a wonderful reflection on living alone that appeared in this blog a few years ago. And my comment on it: “As author Alice Walker so aptly puts it, when you have a live-in, that’s at least one side of you that’s covered. When you live alone, you’re vulnerable on all sides.”

So let’s see. What does she mean when she says “sides,” and which one is supposed to be uncovered when you live alone?

Financial is one side. Though it may also be true for a single partner in a percentage of married or cohabiting couples, we singles mostly bear the full costs of everything we do and are solely responsible for maintaining our home, clothes, etc. We don’t generally have people  volunteering to throw in a percentage of their salary to help.

Social. We may, and if we’re lucky, do have enough pals or friends we can go places and do things with. To have company out in the world is usually a blessing; to have company at home can be a mixed blessing when you’re not in the mood! But in any case it can take extra courage to pursue life’s little adventures when you have to do it alone.

Physical. When you live with someone, you have another person to share a hug with when you need one. In romantic relationships you’ve got regular opportunities for sex. Singles must work to find hugs among friends or relatives, and/or we can get and give physical affection with a pet.

What else? Spirituality is something we all choose and experience alone.

Emotionally could be where she’s suggesting the “uncovered” side occurs when you live alone. You may have one or more close friends you can turn to for support, but you always have to find them first. They’re not there to see and hear your pain when you get the devastating phone call about a lost job or the death of a close friend. They’re not wondering where you are when you’re late, and they’re not there to be glad when you get home (another thing pets can help with!).

Do you feel vulnerable on all sides? If you believe that life is a series of lessons, then it’s easy to see that living alone can be the larger context for the kinds of lessons you never have to face when you always live with someone. Just as living with someone gives you lessons you can’t get any other way.

There are joys and freedoms to being coupled just as there are unique joys and freedoms to being single. When the day comes that society values both equally, there will be no need for organizations like SWWAN.

Cropped screenshot of Rosalind Russell from th...

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Ever notice how the most interesting and exciting stories (in books and movies) usually involve an independent woman, generally unmarried? think about it–even in the day of Rosalind Russell. Read my review of her movie, Sister Kenney.

[Many thanks to Wendy and Rosemary for helping me sort through the issues for this post. And check out their website: www.mysinglespace.org]

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Former TV star's advice on living alone

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She was the cute and savvy sidekick on the 60s television series “Get Smart.” At some point in her life Barbara Feldon’s marriage dissolved and nothing else seemed on the horizon. Eventually, she adapted and is now thriving–her book, “Living alone and loving it: a guide to relishing the solo life,” offers some cool advice. A few points:

  • Stop imagining that marriage is a solution for loneliness.
  • Nurture a glowing self image that is not dependent on an admirer.
  • Value connections that might be overlooked.
  • Develop your creative side.
  • End negative thinking. (Just say “Stop it!” when those thoughts intrude.)

A really important item: Live within your means – ruthlessly. Give up the idea of an ideal caretaker who will provide a safe haven and relieve you of your responsibility for your financial security.

Like this one. Treasure your home – it is a portrait of what you think of yourself. Explore your own taste – unfettered. “Your space is the litmus test of your self-esteem.”

And especially appreciate this one: “Our romantic nature is one of the dearest aspects of being human. Whether it is expressed directly in mating or sublimated in friendship, affection, fantasy or art, it deserves to be celebrated and encouraged to take wing.” Concentrate on the loving connections in your life – not on what is missing.