Battling loneliness when shut in

My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer in September, with an estimated 6 months to live. She also has dementia. I live an hour away and my brother lives 6 hours away. We both can work remotely. We now take turns caring for my mom in her home. (The nursing homes either have active Covid, or they are on lockdown with no visitors. We choose the best quality of life for my mom.) We read scripture and know what God requires of his children.
1 Timothy 5:4
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

 

I have an elderly friend who is quaranteening because of this virus. I imagine she must get lonely. I think she does allow her daughter to visit her. And I used to visit her often to help out around the house and other stuff, and just talk. Since I am a front line, essential worker, she is not allowing me to be around her right now. But I do call her at least once a week to talk.

 

I think a great mental health crisis will result from this pandemic, particularly in the elderly population. Especially those in nursing homes who are not permitted to have visitors right now.

 

Isolation is more harmful than beneficial, but there are some benefits. Since this level of isolation is beyond my control, I am trying to maximize the benefits whenever possible. The opportunity to experience some of these benefits is a privilege.

Some of the greatest works of literature were written by prisoners: Pilgrim's Progress for example. I expect this time of isolation to increase my skills as a writer. I am seeing and experiencing things far from the norm, and have more quiet time to process all that I am seeing and feeling. This will be food for my writing for years to come.

I have a charge card. There are things that can be purchased that reduce isolation or make it easier and more productive. I try and be responsible, but one thing that I have learned is that the present has to be survived to make a future possible. And a penny saved now can mean a dollar spent later. Extreme austerity is not always the most efficient way to manage finances and sometimes health is more important than a balanced budget.

I have learned that the brain is an organ and it needs to be cared for like any other body organ. Faith makes this organ more resilient, but it is still sustains damage when subjected to conditions that it was not designed to endure.

I binged over the holiday. That is information more than anything else to me, that I am functioning at my max and I need to be careful and cut myself some slack as needed. I am still underweight. I doubt that there will be any long-term physical consequences to my 3 day binge, but my ankles swelled from all the salt and the unexpected mega carb load that my overworked pancreas was unable to fully neutralize.

I am the steward of this body that has been entrusted to my care. I know that God has future work for me that will require this body to be in good shape. Stewards are only responsible to manage what they have been given. There is no shame in being unable to manage a little as if it were a lot. I have been given little, so I only need to manage a little. I am not being judged in comparison to those entrusted with more.

I binged. I managed to stop. Moving on the best I can with what I have been given.