The McNair household is usually a busy one, with full social calendars and lots of visitors. But those things have ceased in the COVID-19 pandemic, and Bob and Diane have taken their active social life and volunteer work online.
Health officials are recommending everyone stay at home as much as possible. In particular, seniors are being urged to remain at home and seek alternative ways of getting supplies so they don't have to go out into the community.
“We realized very quickly that we wouldn’t be able to see our family,” said Bob MacNair. Bob and his wife, Diane, have been self-isolating for several weeks now at their home in Collingwood.
“FaceTiming and phoning have been the best way to keep in touch so far,” said Diane. “We try to communicate with our friends, family members and grandchildren on a regular basis.”
The couple, who are both active members in Collingwood’s Probus clubs, are two of many who find their schedules considerably empty after all upcoming events and meetings were cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. But they are open to other ways to stay connected.
Diane’s book club will meet for the first time over Zoom — a cloud-based video conferencing service — and Bob, who is the director of Probus Ontario District 7, a territory that stretches from Owen Sound to North Bay, has toyed with the idea of implementing other activities over video for the community-based clubs he is in charge of.
“We are a group called the Boomers, and now we have to learn about the Zoomers,” laughed Bob. “The boomer generation is becoming the zoomer generation.”
Between numerous communication platforms and medication and grocery deliveries, the MacNairs are thankful for technology in making this trying time bearable.
“We are living in an era where it is a lot easier — for lack of a better word — for us to get through this,” said Bob. “You realize what isn’t essential, but it doesn’t mean you don’t miss it.”
To show their gratitude for the things that are essential, every evening at 7:30 p.m. the couple heads to their porch with pots and pans in hand and make noise for the front line workers in our community.
“We have been going out every evening for over a week now and more and more of our neighbours have joined in,” said Bob. “It is our little way to say thank you.”
Collingwood residents Barry and Martha Jack are also doing their part to stay connected to the community. They even share a secret signal with her neighbour, who lives alone.
“When we wake up, we put our light on in the dining room so she can see, and she puts her light on in the morning so we know she’s okay,” said Martha.
The Jacks have also been embracing technological advancements in their own way.
“It’s actually been fun,” said Martha. “We've started setting up appointments with friends to sit and chat, maybe with a coffee, and we just catch up. It makes you feel a lot better, like you’ve really been socializing with someone when you talk for more than five minutes.”
Cooking has also been a creative outlet for the Collingwood couple.
“Someone said to try on your jeans every few days so they don’t get too small,” laughed Martha. “I think we are all eating too much.”
“The term comfort food has gone to a whole new level,” Barry added. Barry has been baking bread and cookies non-stop, and laughs that the bread never lasts longer than a day.
“If you like food and food gives you pleasure, cooking is one way you can still express that,” said Martha.
Ann Orr, another Collingwood resident and an active member of the Nature League and the Sound Investment Community Choir, has been cooking in place of her club meetings — and has almost run out of storage space.
“I had to stop cooking soup because I had no more containers,” she laughed. Orr said she and her friends have been sharing recipes to help each other stay busy.
But every so often the stress of the pandemic situation comes back, Orr said.
“Nobody can tell you how long it will be like this and I think that’s the hardest part. Every now and then I have this fear I won’t be able to see my loved ones again. I think anybody older has that fear in the back of their mind.” Orr just hopes that everybody is really paying attention to social distancing restrictions.
That seems to be a general consensus.
“The sooner we can stick to the rules, the sooner we can get through this,” said Diane. “Everybody has been fairly good in Collingwood, so we hope it keeps up.”
"If you really love your neighbour, you shouldn't be doing anything to endanger anybody," added Bob.
