April 2020
The world has stood still! Life as we knew it 3 weeks ago has suddenly vanished. People are buried in their homes, instructed only to go out to shop for food and necessities. The streets look like the rapture has occurred and I’ve been “left behind”. Welcome to a life living with Corona Virus aka Covid 19. This invisible enemy stealthily came upon us in the form of a virus wrapped in fear. It paralyzed commerce, freedom, and liberties we took for granted. An inconspicuous monster has taken over our lives and now rules the world.
Lock down does have its benefits like spending quality time with family 24/7. Conversation, puzzles, making dinners from scratch, baking bread and contemplation rule our days. What an unusual concept! We shut off TV to shield ourselves from the onslaught of doom and gloom news media coverage and spend time listening to podcasts, books on tape, Master Classes, and Tik Tok videos that bring laughter. I even snuck in some hobbies that were long ago buried in boxes. I’ve decided to transform my mind and look for the silver lining in the midst of this disaster.
Easter will be here next week and despite no family get together to celebrate the Resurrection, I can enjoy the beauty of spring and you know what that means–Spring Cleaning. But not just your average run of the mill, bring out the summer clothes type of spring cleaning. No, I’m talking a Marine Corp clean. I have gone through drawers and discovered 30 years of history that I had totally forgotten. I could put a scrap book together (hummm–another good idea) with things I retrieved. Things like: House listings, baptisms, report cards, book reports, boutique openings, diplomas, kid’s concert programs, Playbills, tardy slips, college applications, “Festivus” invitations. What fun to reminisce on so many events and people that have come and gone through my life. Light bulb moment: I think I’ll call them…….
Disinfectant is now part of the lexicon of today’s conversations. I now have my own concoction of bottled bleach handy to spray down every surface I come in contact with. I have dusted closet shelves, washed walls, tossed out three quarters of my pantry, wire brushed the radiator, and am headed towards the dreaded basement to see what lies beneath. Who does that? We do, when you have time, and that’s what my mom did every year when Easter rolled around too. Spring cleaning was an event to declutter, refresh, restore, regroup. Ya know–that feels good. Now I get it mom! Thanks!
This has also been the perfect time to reassess my home. What needs to be repaired, tossed out, reconfigured? I now have a to do list to attack projects that needed attention long ago. Which brings us to a new phenomenon. Figuring things out by ourselves. I have felt like a genius coming up with practical solutions for living life in seclusion (How did the Pilgrims do it?). IE: Making a first aid kit for my car, organizing cabinets, deleting emails, cleaning, cleaning, and did I mention cleaning. Maybe the one thing that we needed to learn from this calamity is–we don’t need governments, organizations, politicians, and the like to take care of us. We can do this! It will be OK with God’s help.
Life at home–in the era of Corona house arrest has been simpler–calm. I’m kinda getting use to this slower pace in which I can think, dream, pray. I feel like my body has been dialed down to enable it to run on patience, peace, understanding, joy, kindness, contentment. I missed that person before the virus hit! Isolation has resurrected me back to the real me. That is the silver lining in this crisis.