I’m writing this from my bedroom floor, hidden behind a pile of laundry where my children won’t find me. This is social distancing at its finest, right?
What a pickle, folks. Life has changed a lot in the last week, and as a friendly, extroverted type of city (Nashville would be an Enneagram 7. I’m convinced. Or maybe a 3w4. I’m open to discussing this.), this “keeping to ourselves” business is a little unnerving. So how do we support the city we love while most of it is shut down? Here are some ideas:
Discover local music.
This is Music City, babe. And suddenly you have a lot of time on your hands and kids who need to burn off some quarantined energy. Take a minute to discover some new Nashville artists on your favorite music streaming service! Actually, go ahead and comment with your favorite local artists so we can all check them out.
Check on your neighbors.
Use those neighborhood Facebook groups, NextDoor, or home owner’s association websites to make sure everyone has enough supplies to get through the great toilet paper shortage of 2020 (one of the weirder results of this whole thing, if we are being honest). If you’re running to the store for weekly groceries and your neighbor needs baby wipes, go ahead and grab her a pack so she can stay home.
Support Tornado Relief.
This season of social distancing and quarantines isn’t ideal for anyone, but some Nashville families got walloped back-to-back — losing their loved ones, homes, or maybe just their perishables due to tornado damage and mass power outages for days just a week before coronavirus was declared a pandemic. Instead of stocking up on four years worth of toilet paper for a household of three, consider donating extra items to organizations who are helping families recovering from the tornado outbreak aftermath.
Shop Small.
As we all know, many small businesses risk massive financial impacts from social distancing efforts. See if your favorite boutique has online ordering. You can still look cute for date nights at home! Buy protein or supplements from your local gym or nutrition shop and arrange a quick pick-up. Use your extra “fun money” that won’t go toward activities this month to buy a gift card to your favorite restaurant so you can treat yourself when this pandemic ends.
Stay positive.
Every single time I see a news headline right now, it’s negative. More restrictions, more death, more fear. That’s not us, Nashville. We aren’t defined by our struggles. We are known for our people. Tornadoes just ripped through our cities, and we showed up by the thousands to help our neighbors in need. We’ve made it through the floods of 2010 and the snowstorm of 2016 and, frankly, more tornadoes than I care to remember. We have seen our city grow and adapt not only to weather but to changing times as we embraced being an “it” city over the past few years. We survived pedal taverns and scooters on our streets. We’ve even seen our sports teams defeat the odds and make it farther in their respective leagues than experts ever expected. We were underdogs once. But we rose. We will always rise.