One of the things I have noticed is – that the coronavirus pandemic has brought out the best in all of us in one way or another. Meaning with families being isolated together 24/7 for close to 8 weeks now, we have seen puzzles brought out from the closet. Board games found in the attic (with new ones ordered on Amazon).
Recipe favorites of Grandma are made and enjoyed at the dining table. Families are ZOOMing adult kids, aunts, cousins; they haven’t seen in years! People are finding time to organize the piles of old photos in the basement, bins of kid’s grade school art, and essential documents in Staple’s storage boxes.
Other awesome coping strategies, for all ages, involve our right brain exercising its creativity. Journaling is, by far, one of the most important, according to the mental health psychologists. It is known to help control and improve our mood by prioritizing problems, fears, and concerns. And, during this time, the news does seem to accentuate the fears far more often. Some are finding keeping a diary of what they have been doing, or better yet, what they haven’t been able to do, is their angle. Others see writing, crayon drawings, painting, sidewalk chalk drawing as a way to record the history of a global pandemic from the perspective of their world.
Scrap-booking of news articles, or screenshots of web news on COVID-19, is another avenue. Even cartoon-related humor has people saving slips of paper or funny email strings. I know I’ve received some great cartoons--like the one of the Labrador said, “Look, our people are now wearing muzzles!”
Let’s face it; we are living in this period of history. Future historians may look back on our creations, the journals, essays, and art that ordinary people are creating now to tell the story of life during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. There’s no better time than now to consider preserving these creations in a hardcover book—commemorated with a title and author gold-foiled stamped on the cover.
At Quality Bindery Services, we welcome discussing how you pull these types of materials together to create a book of your own. Email us at info@qualitybindery.com.