When the World Stopped

It took a couple hours to get through the cobwebs to find this page. It’s been a little over a year since I wrote my last blog post. I figured it was a waste of time, and I had better things to do. Better things to spend my time on. Time was precious.
And now there seems to be so much of it.
Seems like we’re just crawling through the days, trying to get through one, only to do the same tomorrow. Trying to make it through without losing our ever loving minds.
For anyone living under a rock, or for the reader who may inadvertently stumble over this post ten years from now, the world is in the midst of a Pandemic. COVID19 launched its attack a few months back, and now most of us around the globe are on lockdown in one form or another.
Social Distancing. Self-isolation. Quarantine. Curfews.
Ventilators.
Death toll.
These are words we have all become uncomfortably familiar with.
Borders are closed. Flights grounded. Storefronts shuttered.
And so many many people wondering how they’re going to make it through the year.
If they’re going to make it through the year.

That’s the kicker with this thing. You can be walking around with it for days before showing any symptoms. By then you’ve already infected a whole bunch of people, and they’ve infected a whole bunch of people, and on and on and on it goes.
I don’t need to tell you that. You’re living it with me.
And I guess if there are any beautiful moments to be found amidst this ongoing horror movie that has no off button, it’s the knowing that we’re not alone.
We’re all in this together.
For better or for worse.
Let’s not make it worse. Yeah, it’s easy to freak out. We worry about our elderly parents and grandparents. We worry about our teens and young adults and grown adults. We worry about our healthcare worker relatives and friends. We worry and we worry and we worry. Because none are spared. We are all at risk.
Raise you’re hand if you’re NOT having trouble sleeping.I’m getting in the habit of taking deep calming breaths, at least once or twice every hour. If I didn’t, I’d let my thoughts run wild. It’s easy to do, right?
Last year was a tough one for me. I cheered on 2020 with an exuberance I scoff at now. Because, what the heck is this?? This is not what we signed up for!!
Yet here we are.
Where is the good?

Well. We have more time to think. To talk. To listen.
To be creative.

Okay, I have to be honest. Being creative right now? It’s not really happening for me. These are the first words I’ve written in weeks. My anxiety level has been a bit off the charts and I can’t seem to concentrate on anything for long. But maybe this is a start. Maybe I’ll write more tomorrow. 

We also have more time to spend with our loved ones. Maybe more time than we want, but we can still go for walks, alone. Right?
And let’s thank Jesus for the Internet, because if you mute all the garbage, there’s good stuff to be had too. My husband and I chatted with my brother-in-law and his wife for an hour on Saturday on Facetime. Don’t think we’ve done that in a long time and it was awesome. We’re having to do Facetimes with our granddaughter right now because my husband is a pediatrician and he doesn’t know if he’s putting her at risk by seeing her. I’m seeing my less of my dad and stepmother because I’m afraid of putting them at risk. So that’s how we’re doing life right now. Online. Which is a whole lot better than nothing.

I’m spending a lot of time outdoors. I’m thankful that it’s Spring and we can leave the windows open, flooding the house with fresh air. We can go for walks. The birds are louder this year. I can hear the tree frogs at night because there is no traffic. The sky seems bluer. The sun warmer.

I have time to notice these things.
I have a lot of time. So do you.
How are you spending it?

I would encourage you by saying something I am sure you’ve heard a million times already; this too shall pass. At what cost, I couldn’t say, but I do know that at some point, this will end. And life will resume.
But it will never be the same.
This will have changed us.

I think we’ll all come out of this with a different perspective, but perhaps we may be a little kinder. A little slower to anger. A little less inclined to judge. A little more willing to stop, and give, rather than wonder what’s in it for me. Imagine what our world would be like with more love and less hate.

We have learned quickly how to protect ourselves. How to wash our hands. How to not touch our face. How to reach out to those in need.
How to love our neighbor. From six feet away.

Let us remember the good things that are happening in the midst of this hard hard time. Let us all learn from it.
Let us remember that when the world stopped, we carried on.
And survived.