We are not meant to live in isolation. What makes us healthy and whole are the connections we form with one another.  With our families. Our friends. Our colleagues and our community…  The thing we need the most to feel healthy has become harder to get.

After more than 30 years in the field of social work, I know one thing to be true. We do not need to be victims to our situation. We have choices to make, each and every day about how we want to live our lives. How we choose to show up for ourselves and each other.

One of the hardest things about this time for me has been the loss of travel, the opportunity to explore. If you know me, you know I love to travel. Give me a passport and a seat on a plane or in a car and I’m on my way, ready for what comes next. I thought it might be fun to travel, however virtually, around the US and yes, even abroad, to visit with people and hear how they’re doing during this difficult time. Over the next few weeks I’d like to bring you a glimpse of what life is like for our friends and neighbors in other places.

Today we meet Rozanne, who lives in San Antonio, Florida, a small town north of Tampa.

What are things like in your neck of the woods? Give us a picture of what life is like where you are: Our town has always been a quiet town anytime of the day except there is always a waiting line at Pancho’s Mexican restaurant. With the pandemic they choose to shut down, no take outs. A lot less cars on the Main Street. I do see people eating lunches at the city park. 

How have you been affected by the pandemic personally? It hasn’t really affected me personally. Only where I’m not able to go to the mall, restaurants or the beach. Our family enjoys being home. We like to cook. I like to sew. I’m taking advantage of getting all my projects finished. It also hasn’t affected my work. I market nutritional supplements that help build up the immune system to keep away from cold and flus. These products also helped me recover everyday on the Camino. I haven't been sick in 25years.  

Do you have friends or family who have been infected by the virus? Several friends mentioned that they think they had the virus before they knew there was a pandemic. 

What has been the hardest thing for you to deal with? Listening to the media. I turn it off or try to be selective. How will we live in the future? We have to create it!

What have you appreciated during this period? I have appreciated my time to sew during the period. It’s been the best sewing retreat I’ve ever been on! I’ve made a quilt for a nurse, been a crew member seamstress for a pilot tv series, made face masks for people that needed them, making a blazer for a magician, hemming pants. And in the middle of this my sewing machine died. Newer machine time! My sewing machine is now in the 21st century. 

What are you doing to keep yourself emotionally healthy during this time?   I am being positive and encouraging others too. My nutritional supplements help me feel confident about my immune system.  I still take precautions. I wash my hands, wear a mask, get plenty of rest and exercise. I’ve been walking, kayaking, taking drives, zoom calls for business/church/social. I’ve been doing an in-home 90 day exercise  challenge, writing a book and cooking. 

What recommendations do you have for others: We have to keep hope alive, create how we will live and not live in fear.

Thanks for joining us and sharing your experience, Rozanne!

Let’s broaden the conversation, shall we? Would you like to be featured in our guest interview posts? We want to hear from you! Email me at suzanne@suzannemaggio.com.