How to Fight back against an Epidemic of Loneliness
On the healing power of an unexpected reunion with some of my favorite women.
In 2020, several months after the COVID-19 pandemic had begun, I was taking one of my rare trips to the grocery store when I saw my good friend and neighbor sweeping her front porch. We both stopped and looked at each other, both masked, and tentatively said hello from a distance. Apart from my husband and daughter, it was the first time in months I had spoken to someone I knew in person, and I could sense it felt good for both of us. I had begun to feel a deep well of loneliness I wasn’t sure would ever go away. We stayed there talking, me on the sidewalk and her in her front yard, for what felt like a lifetime but was probably closer to fifteen minutes. In that moment, it felt as good as any brunch, dance floor, or secret I had ever shared with a best friend. During a lull in the conversation, she placed her broom against her building wall, wiped her brow, and asked cautiously, “Can I ask you a weird question?”
“Of course,” I responded.
“Do you think . . . Would it be okay to maybe ask you for a hug? With our masks on?”
I did not hesitate in my response. We needed each other, however briefly.
“Yes,” I said as I reached my arms out to her. We hugged over her fence for as long as we could hold.
