What Will We Do With Our Time?

by Matilda Charles

What did we really ac- complish this past year? We have had time, certainly, with all these lockdown days, weeks, and months, to do any number of things.
After reviewing my year of COVID, I realize that I could have done so much more, had I only known just how long flattening the curve was actually going to take.

By my calculations, I could have accomplished the following:

• Painted every room of the house three times. Yet here I sit with color swatches still taped to the wall where I put them last spring when I thought that interior painting would be a good summer project.
• Written 1.25 novels, judging by how long it took to produce the others I never started. Too many other things to do, too many fun events coming up, I thought. Had I known just how much free, quiet, and solitary time there was going to be, I would have started on Day One.
• Become fluent in French with Duo-lingo free online lessons.

I misjudged the coronavirus, seriously misjudged just how long it would be with us. I was certain that it would be gone by June. Then by September. Here we are, 15 months later, still wearing masks and staying home.

I’m determined not to let another year go by with so little to show for it. I’ve picked an interior paint color. Now I’ll order the paint and go collect it curbside at the hardware store. The first file of a new novel is ready, with Chapter 1 and a first paragraph. It’s a start. My Duolingo account is still there, holding my place where I left off long ago.

What did you do with the time?