Onely.Org

My Office Gets Singlist About COVID-19 January 28, 2021

So the other morning, I walked into the lobby of my office building and saw these helpful hints on the digital message board: 

Living Single in COVID: 

Structure your time

Treat yourself well

Maintain a schedule

I watched the board for a minute to see if it would give me advice on living coupled in COVID. I knew it wouldn’t, and it didn’t. The board flicked to a new screen that told me masks were required in the building, and that yoga class would be in the gym at 12:00. 

There’s been discussion in the singles advocacy community about whether it’s appropriate to single out (sorry) singles during COVID as needing special help. I wrote about this ad nauseum in my two posts about Kamala Harris’ remarks about checking in on single people. My feeling is: yes, check in on single people, but also check in on coupled people. Domestic violence rates have spiked during the pandemic, and yet I don’t walk into work and see a handy list of tips for Living Coupled In COVID. 

But don’t worry couples, I got you! 

Living Coupled in COVID: 

Structure your time

Treat yourself well

Maintain a schedule

Oh, and don’t beat your spouse.

Yes, that last one is tasteless snark. But I was cranky about those patronizing pixels flashing in my face at the godless hour of 9:30 am. I’ve spent (pause to calculate) at least 2/3 of my adult life single, and almost as much time living alone and loving it. I’ve worked hard to build an independent life for myself and have overcome many challenges. For literally decades I alone have completely managed my finances, my health, my job, my semi-geriatric cats, and my semi-geriatric townhouse. I did this by structuring my time, treating myself well, and maintaining a schedule. But by all means feel free to advise me about navigating the pandemic as a single person (pause to roll eyes). 

–Christina