Hi Mrs. C.
Perhaps this is what getting older is all about: once one ailment goes away, it almost immediately gets replaced by another? Certainly seems that's the case for a lot of us, and regarding the hands, I have no idea what's going on with mine but I have pain in both of mine, too, when trying to move them a certain way. So far it hasn't really restricted me from doing anything so I'm just going to ignore it, but should it get worse, I guess I will have to figure out what it is and what to do about it.
My life hasn't been affected TOO terribly by the quarantines: I still go to the shelter, I still pop into stores when I need something, and I have always enjoyed being home and not attending social events. I do miss going to the gym occasionally and they have re-opened but I really don't feel safe going there yet where there are hundreds of people sweating and touching everything. I also miss the casino, and they have also opened, but again, not ready to try it.... yet.
I had to attend a family outing yesterday and it was pretty awful. I have loved being able to say "No thank you" to all of my sister's invitations for the past few months, but this one was a graduation party for my great-nephew, whom I adore, so I went for him. But when I saw the weather report stating there would be thunderstorms and torrential rain at the time of the party, I contacted my family and asked if perhaps we could postpone till the next day or the next week. If it rained, it meant there would be 15 of us all milling around inside her house! Of course she told me I was being ridiculous and was irritated by my suggestion, but enough other people chimed in so that she at least agreed to postpone it by 2 hours. As we arrived, the rain was stopping and the sun was peeking out so we were able to hold it outdoors after all. But as soon as I got there she announced to everyone that they all needed to keep their distance from me because I was "corona crazy". As usual, she was negative, bitter, angry and condescending the entire time, to most everyone, so it was a painful act of love to be there. And the worst part is I had felt my anxiety ramping up a few days ago and couldn't figure out why.....even though I wasn't consciously thinking about her party, I guess my sub-conscious was already getting anxious about the upcoming event. And even though I don't let her get to me much anymore, I think it's a case of PTSD from so many decades of her terrorizing me emotionally. The only real solution is to avoid her as much as possible.
Now that this is over with, I can go back to my regular life and the only next big thing I need to stress about is the 9 days I will be spending on the other side of the country with my grandchildren, but that's not until the end of September so I will tell my body to stash away that anxiety until September.
Hope everyone is as well as possible. I don't think we will ever see our old lives again.... we're going to have to adjust to all the "new normals".
Sue