By Sahar Moussa
day, not too far long ago, human beings woke up to find themselves threatened by a mysterious virus that has no cure and allegedly kills a lot of people. This coronavirus is called COVID-19. It infects people of all ages, and poses a serious risk to the elderly and immunocompromised. The virus forced the entire world to its knees, paralyzing entire economies.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in order to avoid COVID-19, there are a few steps you should take, such as washing your hands regularly, avoiding close contact with people who are sick and staying home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects, maintaining social distancing and wearing facemasks while in public.
I wanted to start with this introduction that is well known by now to the entire world - to summarize our past seven months that brought a lot of people nothing but misery, loneliness and depression; but not me. Honestly, it was absolutely the opposite for me - COVID-19 was the best thing that happened to my life, and don't get me wrong.
I'm a new mom and I have a job; and new moms know how hard it is to leave their newborn at home to go to work. After I finished my maternity leave, I had to come to work for two months, leaving my baby with a nanny, which I hated very much, but I did not have a choice.
Then the solution to my worries and prayers came disguised in a virus. The government imposed a full lockdown for 20 days in May. But before and after the full lockdown, luckily for me, I managed to work from home for about three months due to the outbreak. It was a blessing to be with my newborn baby and watch him grow without compromising my career.
As for social distancing, it was not a new thing in my life, as I'm a very private and non-social person to start with. I love to go home after I finish my work, close the door and relax. I admit I don't like to receive visitors, I hate parties and I hate family social duties, because I think it is just a waste of time and energy. On the other hand, staying with my husband for three months actually boosted our relationship and we got the chance to bond even more than before. I learned how to cook and lived a healthy life.
I'm also a germophobe, so using sanitizers and washing my hands regularly was a natural thing. As for wearing gloves, it was a bonus I always wanted to do in public, but did not want to be looked at as a psycho. Regarding wearing facemasks, can you imagine the benefits that come from wearing it, especially for women' Allow me to list them.
If you wake up late in the morning and you have to rush to the office and have no time to put on your makeup, all you have to do is put on your facemask on and you will be ready. If you decided to apply lip or cheek fillers and it didn't turn out as you expected, or you don't want anyone to notice, put on your facemask and voila, you are covered.
If you decided for a drastic makeover and got a nose job or chin implant, and you have to go to office or meet people, putting on a face mask is your solution. If you woke up and forgot to brush your teeth or ate something in the morning and have an important meeting and don't have gum in your purse to avoid bad breath, put on your facemask on and you will get away with it.
If you had a bad night and you were sleep deprived and have puffy eyes and dark circles under your eyes, you can save a lot of money on eye creams by putting on a facemask instead. If you are a low-profile person and don't like to be recognized in public, and like to watch people instead of being the showoff, all you have to do is wear your sunglasses and your facemask and you will be in your comfort zone.
Even men who shaved their moustache or beard and look bad and regret that they shaved, all they have to do is put on their facemasks for a few weeks and nobody will even notice that they shaved in the first place. I know that a lot of people have lost their health and lives. They lost their social lives, jobs and people they loved due to this virus, and I'm terribly and deeply sorry for that. But for me, I got to appreciate the meaning of spending every single moment with my husband and newborn baby without any external intervention of the chaotic and speedy life and meddlesome people.
sahar@kuwaittimes.net