Seeking a text buddy for the end of the world. That’s what my headline would say. So COVID-19 is here and I’m a single mom. I’ve been social distancing for weeks due to life circumstances so I already feel like I’ve been hunkered down avoiding human contact for a while. Loneliness sets in, friends, that’s what two weeks into mostly self-quarantine looks like.
I think about meeting new people and I think about the virus. I weigh the risks. Is a bit of human contact worth chancing infection?
What’s interesting to me in all this is the tables have finally turned. Women have always worried about if meeting a stranger could cause us to be injured or die. This is the way it’s always been for us.
You weigh the odds. Does he seem okay? Does he seem safe? You read stories about women who have been date raped or killed by someone they met online and it’s a worry. Usually when loneliness kills it’s a bad date, not a virus.
“Don’t stress. Don’t get dragged down by negative statistics,” this man said to me one time, when I told him I wasn’t comfortable having a stranger to my home. This was years ago, long before COVID-19 when I was just acutely aware someone who couldn’t accept a no from a distance was unlikely to accept a no in person and that meant a no from me for everything, frankly. No thanks.
This outbreak reminds me so much how my love language is touch and what a shitty time it is to be someone who deeply craves that. It’s a bad time for even a platonic sofa watching tv snuggle. So I’m ensconced in blankets under a pile of cats, breaking for a hot bath to trigger much-needed oxytocin. I will be warm and cozy!
So many of my important relationships happen from afar. There is a sense that we are all in this together but that we are for social distancing sake really far apart. FaceTime is everything these days, when face to face time is less feasible.
I’m not looking to complicate my current situation and I’m really not interested in getting this virus because my immune system is so fragile. I’m not looking to find love in a time of Corona. Is it the end of the world? Probably not. But I’m seeking a text buddy just the same.
