Editor’s note: The Sidney Daily News asked its readers to share their COVID-19 experiences.

I sometimes think of myself as an odd duck. While other people are “freaking out” a little because they have to stay home, I have been fortunate to have the time to get things done that I can rarely find the time to do.

With that, my favorite month has always been April. My friend Deb Wentz, who is originally from Anna and now lives in Cleveland, and I share the month of April for our birthdays and both agree that this will be an April to remember.

I have had time to catch up on newspapers, magazines, books, movies, cleaning cupboards; and organizing my den and all my non-profit groups’ files plus work on newsletters. All items on a list that I made when I retired in 2015.

Cooking is not always on my daily “to do” list, but I have spent more on groceries in the last two weeks than in the last two months. I believe it’s time to try some new recipes as I have exhausted my current “old standbys.” And, who knew obtaining toilet paper would be a major project. My brother helped out with that one.

I remember that years ago I put off joining Facebook for the longest time and now I don’t know what I’d do without it. Keeping up with all my friends and family on Facebook has been incredible. The best part of Facebook is all the ingenious ways people have come up with entertaining the rest of us who are “staying home.” A friend who normally spends his Tuesday nights playing piano and singing at Marie Crisis piano bar in NYC, now streams the same program he would be doing at the bar on Facebook. So, his Ohio friends can now catch his act. A theater friend in Cincinnati who performs and directs a lot of community theater and has performed in many shows at LaComedia, has taken to singing on Facebook once a day (and he takes requests). Locally, Liz Maxson and her two kids also sang on Facebook. And, all the other individuals and groups who have shown up in their little squares performing some great Broadway and inspirational songs.

So those of us missing theater and our theater friends, are filling some of those gaps with Facebook; with time for naps and sometimes never getting out of our pajamas.

The only thing I really miss are appointments with my massage therapist, female conversation with co-workers at my part-time job, and, I’m betting in a couple of weeks, my hairdresser will be added to that list. Canceling two vacations was no fun either.

Another reason I like April is Holy Week. I’ve loved streaming Facebook from Sidney First United Methodist Church and I look forward to the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services along with Easter services on Sunday.

My birthday was good. I received a couple of snail mail birthday cards, chocolate from my brother, lots of Facebook “Happy Birthday” wishes, chimichanga’s from Mojitos for dinner, with a piece of chocolate cake for dessert. And, my significant other is still doing all his chores (i.e. feeding the birds and squirrels, doing the dishes, mowing the grass, laundry, etc.) and helps to keep me laughing.

As discombobulated as April 2020 will be, it is humbling to know we are all in this together. We may each be handling life differently, but our intentions are the same…to be safe and wait this situation out so we can see what’s in store for us at the end of the tunnel. I’m pretty sure it too is going to be great, albeit a bit different.