Last week one a few of my blog friends said that “How are you?” seems to be a question that many are leaving unvoiced…

In this time of all in this together, have we forgotten to actually think about the feelings of others?

Ask about them?

Listen to them?

So…

How are you?

If you’re happy and you know it I’ll clap my hands with you…

But if you’re anything else…

I’m here…

You can comment, or email me directly:

wakinguponthewrongsideof50@gmail.com

68 thoughts on “Nenhum-How Are You?”

  1. I’m doing okay. As an introvert who lives alone, the solitude doesn’t bother me much, and I’m lucky enough to still have a job to go to every day, and places where I can go for walks for a change of scenery. But I miss being able to see my friends. So looking forward to being able to have weekly dinners like we used to.

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  2. All in all I am doing ok! A lot of time on my hands and some loneliness when the weather is bad and I can’t be outside, which is more often than not lately. Miss my kids and friends and I worry more than I should. On the good side. found an uncrowded place to hike near my home on Friday and that has increased my attitude a lot plus the weather was nice enough to have a fire outside that evening. Almost like a date with the hubby! It was just one great day but boy did it make a difference! First outing in 2 months for me! Plus, we have not personally been touched by the virus and that is more than enough to be grateful for. So basically I am coping better than I thought I would and I have more to be grateful for than not. Very nice of you to reach out to so many on your post! I hope you are well too and I am here as well if you have a gripe or two or just a hello! Hope you are well too!

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  3. We are well. Nothing has changed that much except my work schedule became heavier and will remain so until the end of the month. Stepson and family, we are busy with outings as they received a wonderful opportunity to live in the Appalachian Mountains. Thing are going well, our state is doing well and we continue, contributing when we can.

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  4. And of course, our thoughts and prayers are with many of the stories we hear daily but things have been handled well here. Slowly, we are returning to outside jobs and openings of restaurants, and outdoor facilities.

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  5. I struggled this week as we entered two months since I was sent home from work. I will be happy when my daughter finishes her last final this morning so she won’t have to deal with school and can pretend she’s just home for summer vacation. Work from home stresses me out. I guess I should be grateful I have a job, but I wanted to quit my job before this and I want to even more now. Hoping for a better week this week.

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  8. I’m not ok, but I’m compartmentalizing enough to get though it until I can unbox it and deal with it. So many of us are going to wind up with PTSD from this, and I cannot even begin to imagine the damage to frontline healthcare & first responder personnel.

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  9. LA, thank you for being concerned for your readers. I think that is top notch behavior! I am doing well. I have a cat to entertain me and make me laugh. She is so funny sometimes. I live in a condo building and have wonderful neighbors. I have two sons and their wives and one has two grandsons that I haven’t seen (except on Face chat) in two and a half months. The only physical contact I have with anyone is my acupuncturist who does physical manipulation. He is younger than my sons, but it is a healing feeling just to be touched. I have two girlfriends with whom I have eaten lunch with. We order lunch, pick it up and park at least half a parking space apart and open the doors and eat. That helps a lot! I get a little grumpy sometimes but not often. How are you, LA?

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  10. I’m okay. My 18 year old is navigating the world of minimum wage employment. He is discouraged that not everyone works together-he ended up having to stay 45 minutes late the other day because someone else was slow getting their word done. There was a part of me that wanted to be a helicopter mom and take care of the situation, even though that is clearly the wrong approach. The other part of me wanted to tell him “Get used to it, that is part of being a grown up”.
    Honestly though he is lucky to have a job right now—even if he isn’t feeling too lucky.

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    1. Thank you for sharing. This is such a difficult time to navigate. All of our feelings are valid, and I think it’s too easy to forget this

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  11. I am feeling a little more hopeful actually. I have gotten some interesting transcription work and inquiries regarding two more study proposals. Also was approved for unemployment benefits even though I am self-employed, although I haven’t gotten the actual $ yet. Now if our tax lady would finish our taxes so I’d know where we stand on that I could relax just a bit. Made two sales on the Etsy site too! Our family is virus free and even though relationships are strained sometimes, that really had nothing to do with the pandemic. All in all I’m grateful. Thanks for asking. You are so kind.

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  13. When it comes to the blog world, many of us are kind of posting about this already, so I can see how some may just not ask because it is already there. I did check in with a blog friend recently because there hadn’t been any posts for a little while. I’m glad I did because things weren’t great and my message seemed to do them some good. Unfortunately I’m not as good about checking in with those outside of the blog world that I don’t talk to as regularly.

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  14. Well observed. Only close friends ask that question – and they get the whole truthful answer. If I’m entirely honest, I probably only ask it of a few people myself. I’d like to think that’s because I’m not talking to many people, but … I can’t say for sure. I was touched today to be greeted by my elderly neighbour concerned as she’d not seen me for a while (I’ve not walked outside for a while due to back problems). To answer your question, better this week after a bad couple of week. But we’re all mostly up & down aren’t we? Hope you’re doing OK too.

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  15. Thanks for asking. I am doing okay. I am calm and at peace, at least for this moment in time. I hope it stretches out through the day and week ahead. Still attempting to fully wrap my head around the fact that this virus has changed life as we knew it prior to the pandemic. That is not a bad thing, all in all. I think we are all a bit more cognizant of the feelings of others’. At least I hope so. We had a bit of bad news over the weekend. My sister’s step daughter has been diagnosed with Covid-19 and it is a huge worry. I don’t know the young woman well as my sister and the child’s father divorced many years ago. But the two of them kept in touch and I know my sister is very concerned. Brittany has diabetes (juvenile, type 1) and has been on dialysis for years. She also has many other health issues due to the diabetes. It really makes it all that much more real. I hope she beats this thing.

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  16. How kind of you to ask! We are doing very well, because our lives are not affected much by the lockdown. I feel sorry for so many who are struggling with online school, working from home, afraid of losing their business, and the families who lost someone who had the virus. People are tense, and I try to make allowance for that. I hope our civility will return soon.

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  18. Well this was a nice post and thank you. I am going to do the same on my blog today and will credit you with the idea! Personally I had a HARD week last week. I almost gave up on my business. How crazy am I to start a biz, find time to write, and balance it with a day job? Which, I just found out, I might not have in September if California schools don’t go back in session. For me it’s about looking at the big picture. I’m 50. I don’t love subbing. Maybe this is my chance to really move ahead and push through the pain of what being self-employed looks like. Thank GOD for my husband and some good friends to listen and now I”m moving ahead.

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  20. I am extremely lucky to still be employed and have an office where I can go in and shut the door! Staying healthy so I don’t bring anything home to my family is my number one concern!

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  21. I feel like a drug addict must experiencing humungeous highs and lows. Last week with the easing of restrictions I enjoyed catching up with friends : three beautiful picnics in parks enjoying the simple things. I was so grateful to enjoy nature at her best. This week I realise what I have lost: I can’t hug my kids or drink bubbles with them. One is Pregnant In The Time Of Pandemic – is there a book in that? – the other is working on the virus. She has MS and can’t afford to get tired, but of course works through any health issues.
    I will pull my big girl panties up and eat chocolate. That always helps.
    And LA – nice to be asked. No one does. The assumption is always that we’re fine…..

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  22. work sucks, i was really enjoying my staycation away from the job with a paycheck/benefits. I so badly want to leave but with where i live still on lockdown for most companies, the job pool is even emptier.

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  23. Very thoughtful of you to ask. We are doing well – it helps to be living in a rural area, not quite as constrained as urban folks, I think. I do have concerns about all the businesses and the people who used to have jobs and don’t now. The fallout from this pandemic is going to be just awful. I try not to worry.

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  24. Thanks for asking, but more importantly, thanks for listening.
    Stress, tension and uncertainty are not good bedfellows for arthritis. Maybe, I am fortunate that I can tell how I am coping, by how my body is reacting. The past week my body has been complaining. So this week I am determined to reset the healthy habits.
    …and you? How are you feeling today?

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  27. How nice of you to ask! You’re right, all too often we assume that everyone is handling this okay, and face it, most people are not. They’re coping, perhaps, but this is a huge thing that has stolen our normal lives, and every once in a while, that hits home. Other times, things seem okay.

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    1. I ordered shoes last month…ones of wanted that went on a good sale. But when I got them I got so depressed because I couldn’t imagine when I would wear them….

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