Here’s what
TEAM ADVOCATE MEMBERS have been doing to get by
Roderick Benns
Joli Scheidler-Benns
Kirk Winter
It feels like I’ve been working harder since the pandemic began. But I’ve carved out the time to go on long walks with my daughter. Joli and I have also enjoyed binging Cardinal, the dark police thriller filmed in North Bay. Reading: Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline and in fiction, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night.
I tore the tendon in my elbow and developed tendinitis in both elbows and shoulders during the time when preventive health care places were closed. In response my dear friend, Paola, created a deep core yoga video for me to follow and heal. A few surprise porch drop-offs of various goodies added some cheer. Online meetings became common.
I have been very fortunate to self isolate with my wife and youngest son who is home from university. We have had much time to talk, play games and re-watch all seven seasons of The West Wing. I have also used the time to get comfortable in my new position as government/ education reporter for The Lindsay Advocate.
Denis Grignon
Nancy Payne
Trevor Hutchinson
Seven years ago, I pulled my groin playing hockey at the rec centre in Lindsay. People in Kinmount, I’m sure, heard my screams. “Stretch more,” they said. Ultimately, though, the couch won; I’ve barely played since. But the pandemic has meant more time to stretch - and reflect. The goal? Returning to (old man) game shape. That’s what’s kept me going.
I’m taking an additional walk most days. It’s calming and gives me perspective to watch spring unfold, oblivious to our human preoccupations. I avoid news stories obsessed with placing blame, and speculative ones that lean heavily on words like “may” and “could” — they just leave me feeling stressed and helpless. Work is actually a blessing, as are “thinking-ofyou” texts from friends.
Thankfully COVID-19 has been mostly just lots of work for me. I baked cookies once when I was feeling guilty about buying flour. Virtual happy hour and virtual church occasionally made up for my lack of socialization. When I was feeling really bad about being a horrible home-schooling parent, I would read pro-machine gun tweets from local councillors and laugh.
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