Quaranteaming

It sounds cute, sort of.  But, hold up a minute here.  It started as a way to self-isolate, but, with another person, thus “teaming”.  The thought behind it being, ‘if we both have to stay home and quarantine ourselves, why not do it together’?

Again, almost sounds like a good idea… however, consider this.  That means the two of you can never go out alone, must stay together 24/7 (just like a married couple), pretty much do everything together.  The second you separate, and don’t do things together, but rather apart, that’s when you set yourself up to come in contact with an outside party.

Is that so bad?  Y-E-S!!  Why? (Because I know you’re thinking that.)  Think of it like another very well known virus, HIV.  Sounds extreme, and it IS.  HIV is transmitted by unprotected sexual contact in the semen.  We know that using condoms dramatically reduces the chances of contracting it. In the same way that HIV changes with each new infected person, the coronavirus adapts to new "hosts" (people) as well.  An antibody test is a very good start.  Many, many more coronavirus tests are likewise a good start, but ultimately, a vaccine is what we need and that is still 12 to 18 months away, putting us well into 2021, closing in on 2022.

Guess what?  The protection, or condom, in this case in regards to the coronavirus, is that face mask.  So, where are we going with this?  I’m glad you asked.

In the same way that condoms and fewer sexual partners reduce that chances of one contracting HIV, that face mask is your protection against potentially contracting the coronavirus, and further, limiting people with whom you spend time quaranteaming, if that’s your choice, you lower your risks of getting it.

And to be clear, no, I wouldn’t start calling your mask a face condom.  That just sounds wrong, and not a pretty image you want floating around in your noodle.

I guess if you are someone that easily feels isolated/alone, then maybe that’s a good choice, but, keep in mind, it IS a commitment, potentially for several months.  It sounds great, and I get that you don’t like being alone at home.  That’s a tough one, for sure.  Maybe getting tested for the coronavirus first, to make sure you’re both negative?

My only concern would be what it does to your friendship during the quarantine.  Could potentially be a friendship killer, and I don’t know that ground rules would help much, if at all.

Since you have to be at home anyway, what about:

• Catching up on reading
• Binge watching those TV shows you’ve missed because you don’t own a DVR
• Journal writing
• Learning a new musical instrument (Guitars are a great one to start with)
• Jigsaw puzzles
• Word Search puzzles, crossword puzzles
• Sewing
• Meditation
• Yoga

… and on and on, ad infinitum.