Blog Post # 3 and Blog Post #4  Pandemic March 19, 20 2020
Happy Spring! The Daffodils are sprouting on the hills outside my window. Proof positive of the cycle of nature. Grateful to put out this blog this afternoon. We are four days into the school shutdown and the more strident instructions to hunker down for safety. I am thankful today that they delivered my box—a day late, but it’s here with my vittles.

Yesterday—three days in—was the day that ‘Rona got real-er for some. With the uptick in folks finally being tested it’s likely that you have already heard or will hear about people you know and love who tested positive, were exposed, have symptoms, or worst-case scenario have been hospitalized. Some of us have already been exposed, lived through it and have built up antibodies. Because trump disbanded the agency that would have been out front on this, our response is muddled and slow. We cannot do anything about that, but we can continue to use common sense to keep ourselves well. Try to resist finding a symptom in every cough or sneeze. It is allergy season, so treat those symptoms.

Despite planning to do so much yesterday, after making that huge can goods shopping run in the morning, I did little. Oh, I published my first blog yesterday, rather than bothering my webmaster. And I even learned how to include hyperlinks. Although, I have to learn how to make the hyperlinked word visible. Oh, and I got all the cans washed and will put them in the cabinets today. Here’s hoping today will be more productive.

Schools were opened today for a few hours for kids to get their books. Lij went by car with his Mom, disinfected and gloved. He got his books and was disinfected before he got back into the car. Mission accomplished.

The big news today is that although the elderly are the largest category of those adversely affected, here in America, the virus is also affecting the 20-44 population and older. Click here. So, whichever category you are in, take precaution.

I am still smarting about being classified as “elderly” overnight. WTH. One day, 70 was the new 40 and I was feeling all 40-ish, and the next day the country is calling me elderly.

If you can read this blog, you are more than likely living a good life. My friend, Leslie Gallagher, has been out all day delivering food to refugees in Kingston, NY. Imagine their plight. Remember, we are all in this together. After this, I am going to clean and purge. Promise.

Pandemic March 20, 2019 Blog #4

Sorry, this blog never made it out. I did, however, clean the kitchen and organized my daily food and my emergency prepper food. Now to tackle the Living/Dining Room tonight. It’s a beautiful, warm Spring-like day. The overcast cold morning bowed out in favor of the sun.

Every morning when I awake and this situation is still a reality, I want to become anxious. But “Panic, you die,” works itself into my head and I intentionally work on not panicking. This morning that work was in finding Deepak’s 21 Days Meditation, something that I have done three times since November, and find it soothes me. But, WTF, it was not to be found on YouTube or anywhere except for some subscription for money. Pox on their house. Apparently Deepak pulled them. Then I found him doing a Covid-19 healing video from his home—it was not the same. What Meditations, if any do you do? You can comment in the space provided or on my post.

I look to each day for inspiration to get me through. That came this morning from two sources, first, my babies cum teens sent a video of them where the boy was playing the ukulele to the girl’s singing, “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” It was so sweet and pure and hearkened back to a time before Covid-19 that I played it over and over. I became emotional watching it when thinking about their future. What does that look like?

The second inspiration came from my friend, Rachel Breidster’s post, part of which I replicate here with her permission: “In the meantime, one of my all-time Pema quotes that might be worth considering:
“To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man’s-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh.”
It might sound scary initially, but the truth is, you were never really in that nest. You just thought you were. Making peace with falling from the nest brings peace to a lot of other parts of your life as well.” <3” We have all been thrown out of our nests by this pandemic. Today, I will work on trying to make peace with that, to experience the coming moments as completely new and fresh. This is so much easier said than done, but the attempt may be more important than the accomplishment. Stay safe, folks. Don’t hoard. Find Community. Check in with and check up on folks who live alone. Make those video calls. Stay hydrated. Eat well.

Until we all arrive at the other side of this pandemic, Peace, Love and Health,