When I was a kid, I never thought someday I would be grateful for the lessons in frugality learned from our meager means.

I would have disagreed vehemently with anyone who suggested such a thing.

The current pandemic and the public’s reaction to it – specifically, hoarding toilet paper – brought back memories of our cement company rental houses that did not even have bathrooms.

I still can remember when my family was too poor to buy toilet paper for the outhouse and we had to use newspapers or pages from the Sears catalog when we ventured outside in the dark or cold or rain.

Several cartoons arising from the coronavirus depicted characters talking about that very subject.

Although such incredulous images bring laughs today, back then we were not amused.

Yes, some of us really did live that way.

The paper towel shortage was another reminder of bygone days.

I don’t recall having paper towels during my childhood.

We used terry cloth towels or washcloths to dry our hands.

So when paper towels disappeared from store shelves, I reached for a bundle of inexpensive washcloths and kept them on the kitchen counter.

The best part: they are washable and reusable.

Maybe I was made for the deprivations that bothered many of my friends and acquaintances during the recent shelter-at-home order.

One friend was upset over being unable to get her regular manicure and pedicure.

Another missed her weekly massage.

I never have had my nails done professionally, so such restrictions didn’t faze me.

As my friend soon learned, it is not difficult to use an emery board and a bottle of nail polish.

Another friend bribed her stylist to come to her home and cut her hair.

She made it worthwhile and succeeded.

Many of us braver souls just picked up a scissors when we no longer could stand seeing our reflections in the mirror.

That reminded me of our mother cutting our hair when we were too young to care how we looked.

As I page through old photo albums, I always laugh at our crooked, too-short bangs.

Not that the trims I gave to myself these past few months looked much better!

Professional hair coloring was another sacrifice some friends had to accept.

I received a phone call from an excited friend who informed me she had bought and used her first box of hair color after decades of professional coloring.

“It was easy and it looks good,” she gushed.

I could have told her that.

I have been coloring my own hair for years.

Not only is it easy, it costs much less than salon color.

Other friends decided this was the ideal time to stop coloring and go gray.

We had a little contest to see who could last the longest. After holding out almost 11 weeks, I lost.

The shortages of certain food items also reminded me of my childhood and the need to be flexible and creative in our cooking when the cupboard was bare.

I can make something from almost nothing.

Speaking of cooking, some friends had to get acquainted with that concept when restaurants were closed.

One gal joked that her favorite kitchen tool was the phone and the best thing she ever made was reservations.

During the months when businesses and entertainment venues were closed, a lot of folks discovered the great outdoors and the beauty of nature. I was already there.

As kids, we rarely went anywhere.

A country girl, I grew up spending all my free time outside, collecting leaves, studying bugs and turtles and snakes, picking wild berries, wading in the creek and walking in the cool woods.

The natural world fascinated me. It still does.

I’m glad families are finding joy being outdoors amongst the trees and numerous wild critters.

Perhaps this newfound pleasure will lead to more awareness of the need to be better stewards of our planet.

With gyms closed, fitness-minded friends and relatives walked, jogged and rode bicycles.

Many exercised at home. I always preferred doing that, and have used stairs and even cans of veggies as equipment to keep the routine interesting.

Although it seems my background may have prepared me for the changes and sacrifices wrought by the virus, no hardship, no deprivation, absolutely nothing in my life, or anyone’s, prepared us for the virus itself.

Conquering this hostile invader will take more than a village. It will take the entire world.

And as the 1985 Grammy Award-winning record of the year proclaims, “We Are the World.”