Corona Virus and Swinging

[AskMeOk 148]

Well, this has pretty much put all of our activities on hold.  We live in a semi-rural sparsely populated area and have been fortunate that social distancing and the like has been rather automatic.  Unfortunately (in a sense), we live very near the coast and the crowds are flocking in from every state and location whether it is a hot spot or not.  These folks are not social distancing, wearing masks, or even showing any pretense of safety or common sense.  So, our perceived safety level has dropped like a rock.

 

Now, we thoroughly expect a second wave, sooner, probably than later and all we can do is watch the statistics and make an informed decision about entertaining again at some future point.  The level of "new cases" continues to rise as people become weary of sheltering in place and restrictions are lifted.  We'll really be glad to see the hind end of this thing, but with this rampant social irresponsibility, we don't look for anything to change before 1Q of 2021.  ?

[lovefest04 689]

19 hours ago, padoc said:

"We've all given up our freedom to be naked in a restaurant and no one seems to be worried about their constitutional rights."  A restaurant is private property. You choose to go in under their rules and conditions, they choose to serve you if you comply. Much like a swingers club, private property, they should be able to make the rules.

 

If Publix requires a mask for me to go in to buy groceries, I'll wear it, their building, their rules, my choice. I keep my distance from most people as a matter of choice, training and muscle memory, I don't need to be required to do so and I refuse to wear a mask to walk my dog. 

I was speaking to inside activities, not walking the dog. I'm with you on that. I place my mask on as I enter the grocery store and remove it on my way back to my car. I think many people simply don't understand the situation enough and the direction from the 'authorities' is only more confusing. I think we'll see that being outside and distanced will be enough and that if we see an increase in cases after this past weekend play, most if not all of those increases could be attributed to being inside without masks for long periods of time not taking a hike, walking our dogs or strolling on the beach.

[findinganswers 369]

Our area has been slow to getting back to a new normal. With good weather more people are getting out, parks are seeing many people returning, supermarkets are busier. 

My wife has been playing with our friends for weeks, always with my knowledge and always at their place. Her friend has offered to come to our place to play and I have declined the offer. 

Yesterday she wanted her friend to come over without her husband. I said if she wanted that I would leave them alone. I was still not up to close contact but I felt they wanted to be together. She came over and we all went out to a park. They tried to convince me that everything is fine and we could play. I said they could go without me. They went back without me. 

I gave them an hour before I decided that maybe it would be fun. My mind was just thinking about Bare Naked Ladies. When I got home I heard a familiar sounds of a buzzing toy and a moaning wife. I will say it was not long before I gave up my isolation. 

[adamgunn 1,460]

You know, I hear you all. I feel the desire to reunite, to get back to normal. It's been a few months, and we keep sort of hearing that things are getting better. Plus the protests are starting to drown out coronavirus.

 

Just to let you know, things are not getting better. Take a look at worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/. Yes, the curve was successfully flattened to some extent, but in the United States we're still having 20,000 new cases every day, nearly 900 people are dying every day. 

 

I know some of you are going to say fuck it, getting screwed is more important than maybe I get a little sick. And if you're in good shape, yeah, fine, it's your body, go ahead. But please, if you're not social distancing (and fucking somebody you don't live with isn't social distancing,) please, please, please stay away from old people, people with medical issues and children. They could die. It might be your fault.

 

Please!

[ToeDippers 83]

We are pretty new to the LS as we started about a year ago and put the brakes on over 3 months ago. We don’t have a big history of playing. We are not addicted to sex or swinging. Sex with others is still a novelty and talking about it has been a way we have coped with our isolation. 

In the NE things are opening up. Restaurants are open for outdoor dining and drinks. Beaches are open, people are getting back to work. I think our lockdowns worked unlike other areas of the country. 

Our planning of meeting another couple has been exciting for both of us. We talk about our swing experiences and it has added to our own play. 

We did meet a couple for drinks, lunch with the potential of going to their home for more. We are still novices at proper etiquette of swinging. The couple we met are more seasoned even if I think not as seasoned as I originally thought. They did tell us they haven’t met anyone since the pandemic started. 

We agreed to play at their place. For me it was like our first time. I was anxious and excited. Unlike our first times we set up a boundary of no kissing as silly as I always thought that was. Other than the kissing our play went on. I was as excited as I ever was touching and feeling a new partner. 

I know my wife was kicking away her nerves too and enjoyed too. Talking afterwards we both were happy to be getting out. 

Both us and the other couple are healthy and not in a high risk demographic. We are all cognizant of the risks of what we did. Neither of us downplayed the virus. On the contrary we couldn’t believe how others have said it was not real. 

[EastInWest 1,524]

21 hours ago, adamgunn said:

Just to let you know, things are not getting better. Take a look at worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/. Yes, the curve was successfully flattened to some extent, but in the United States we're still having 20,000 new cases every day, nearly 900 people are dying every day. 

The state-by-state variations are significant and something to pay attention to, because this does seem to be cyclical. Where we are, we're hitting historic lows in our active case count after another surprising hotspot developed, and statewide the rate of new cases continues to drop. We continue to be careful and I even consider outdoor dining setups a little close for comfort, but things are getting more normal.

 

On the other hand, some places where they were told the summer climate would protect them are seemingly only now ramping up. Arizona's largest hospital system announced they are out of ECMO machines yesterday. I can only assume it's got something to do with people staying inside and breathing more recirculated and chilled air, but who knows.

[adamgunn 1,460]

EastInWest, around April I looked at the stats from Australia and South Africa, they were coming out of summer at the time, and their stats seemed relatively similar to those in the Northern Hemisphere. It appears to me that this virus isn't confined by warm conditions as the regular flu is. I suspect it's going to be around for a long time, with hotspots developing. Plus we know of the problems in Brazil, which is always warm weather. It 'appears' that this damn thing isn't planning on taking the summer off.

 

If you delve deeper into the Worldmeters site, you can see the statistics by state, and often by locale, even down to zip code. Of course, these stats assume that all cases are reported, and I doubt that's true. 

[padoc 1,701]

Im not sure that a virus can ever be totally eradicated. Still, the odds of surviving  this infection are extremely high. Sufficiently so that if I had the same odds of winning the Powerball, I'd be buying tickets, ordering a Bentley, booking a week at Desire with our friends and turning in my retirement papers! I think that the recent riots and protests may finally accomplish at least one thing. In about two weeks, if there isn't a major spike in new cases in Philly, Minneapolis, NYC and LA, there will no longer be an excuse for the states to continue the draconian lockdowns that have wrecked more lives economically than the virus has taken.

[GMOFLEISURE 221]

11 hours ago, padoc said:

Im not sure that a virus can ever be totally eradicated. Still, the odds of surviving  this infection are extremely high. ...

 

Theres a increasing indication this is correct for the moment.  The jury is still out on long term effects, or if the virus will mutate with relative rapidity.

[SW_PA_Couple 4,023]

An article from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, polyamory during a pandemic:

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/polyamory-pandemic-1.5608920

 

 

[cplnuswing 4,712]

That's a really interesting and well done article, thanks for sharing.  Refreshing to read something on this subject without obvious or subtle judgemental tones to it.

 

In another example of different but similar when it comes to poly vs swinging, our poly friends are hitting on a theme we often talk about here, in that the more people are involved, the more complicated things get.  Just a hurdle, not an impenetrable barrier, but it does take a skill set like they mention regarding open and honest communication, respect for others feelings and perspectives, etc.  The extra level of commitment in some poly relationships (cohabiting, etc.) undoubtedly has made navigating this whole mess more difficult.

[TricianMike 767]

We had a date a few weeks ago with a couple we had met before. It went very well, none have had symptoms after our meeting. The only precaution we took was in the kissing area. 

A couple on this forum that we have played with saw my post about that meeting and suggested we meet. I told her I think it would be best if we waited a few weeks and she agreed, no playing before we meet. 

Mike and I normally enjoy new partners. The excitement heightens with someone we never met. For now we excited to meet people we now consider friends. 

[nusofties 52]

[SW_PA_Couple 4,023]

I continue to be puzzled by the number of SLS members who have recently made initial contact and have requested in-person meetings. My evil side wants to respond, "WTF is the matter with you? Have you not heard of a global pandemic?"  But I understand the wisdom of not going negative. So in each instance I reach way down and come up with a diplomatic reply leaving the possibility of something that might happen in a brighter, happier future. Then I thought, maybe I'd better look at our SLS profile and review the words in it. I found the words, right on top, "always ready". Now I know why people have felt free. My mind is search for something that more accurately reflects out feelings but will not discourage new contacts. 

[njbm 2,863]

6 hours ago, SW_PA_Couple said:

I continue to be puzzled by the number of SLS members who have recently made initial contact and have requested in-person meetings. My evil side wants to respond, "WTF is the matter with you? Have you not heard of a global pandemic?"  But I understand the wisdom of not going negative. So in each instance I reach way down and come up with a diplomatic reply leaving the possibility of something that might happen in a brighter, happier future. Then I thought, maybe I'd better look at our SLS profile and review the words in it. I found the words, right on top, "always ready". Now I know why people have felt free. My mind is search for something that more accurately reflects out feelings but will not discourage new contacts. 

Ready to rumble when it’s safe. 

[cplnuswing 4,712]

On 7/4/2020 at 7:39 PM, SW_PA_Couple said:

My mind is search for something that more accurately reflects out feelings but will not discourage new contacts. 

Engines revved, just waiting for the light to turn green