Joanne Lacompski, friend and fellow Organizational Development practitioner, responded to my query with these responses:

Be an introvert. Joanne shares that she is not experiencing the anxiety that she observes extroverted friends wrestling with due to diminished day-to-day interaction. She suggests that we find and make friends with the introvert that resides in all of us.

Create treats in your week.
Find ways to break up the monotony. I shared with Joanne that my dogs where anxiously awaiting the arrival of the delivery of their dog treats — scouting the gate and watching for the arrival of the package. Joanne smiled and laughed at the long-distance picture of our household and shared that her family — separated by geography — had started Vodka Sundays. Using Google Hang-out they connect, catch-up, and laugh together.

Experiment. Take little Risks.
Joanna is doing this by learning new technology which includes new games that can be played with others and which are violence-free. She invited me to join her in a game. I am thrilled as I love board games and have been disappointed that my purchase of the game RISK did not cause anyone to sit with me (six feet apart) and explore the fun of world domination.

I love Joanne’s very straight forward approach to this marathon! I am going to embrace my introvert and love this time to explore my inner me. I am going to suggested to my far-flung family that we do the Google Hang-out thing. I have regular conversations with each of them but it would be fun to see them all together. And I will join, Joanna in a game.

When I asked Joanne what are the questions she would pose about the marathon we are running together, she responded with:

• What stories have you made up about what it means to be in a marathon?

• Are your stories steeped in any bias or assumptions?

• How does this help or hinder you?

Thank you, Joanne. You always bring new things into my life that I can incorporate quickly. One of your super powers is looking at things differently and asking the best questions.

 Leslie

PS. I have sought out seven of the many people whose opinions I value and asked them to answer the same question about the marathon we find ourselves in. The series of blogs will resume on Monday and be completed next Friday. I hope you’ll find what these folks have to say to be interesting. And valuable.