How One Accountant Has Been Staying Sane in 2020

COVID-19 generated fear in the masses. “Non-essential” businesses shut down, we stayed home, and so did our kids. We became teachers. Business may have stopped for many, but life and work did not stop. They changed drastically, but they went on.

On March 19, I got the news that my daughter’s school would be closed until further notice beginning the following Monday. That is when COVID got real for me. On one hand, I was excited about the prospect of sleeping in. I had not been following reports about the coronavirus. I avoid watching the news; it is too negative.

But schools closing got me watching and, as expected, made me panicky. I decided the stress caused was unhealthy and stopped watching after a masked/goggled/gloved $600 trip to the grocery store in early April. I got a lot of crazy lady looks. Normally I use Instacart, but the shelves were cleaned out, and my shoppers were not picking suitable replacements.

Turns out, when you choose to observe reality in real time rather than through the lens of the news, it becomes clear that the news is hugely exaggerating and sensationalizing rare and negative things. What is interesting to me is that during the Ebola outbreak, I wanted to self-quarantine. I did my virology research project on Ebola. I explored becoming a doctor, pharmacist and a whole gamut of other professions before settling on accounting. The death rate of Ebola ranges from 25–100 percent, with severe and long-term complications for survivors. There is a limited supply of a vaccine for one strain, but viruses mutate. So, that vaccine may or may not be effective. The coronavirus death rate is uncertain but estimated at 3-4 percent. And, it caused a global shutdown.