March 2020 - Page 2 of 4 - Adulting: Second- Half

Stay Level

RIP – Kenny Rogers, thank you for all of the wonderful, memorable, easy to sing along with tunes!

Here’s some things that I have read over the last couple of days that attest to the resiliency of the human spirit, and the kindness and the generosity of our hearts:

+ Holiday lights are being put up again, to give people good cheer, all over the United States

+ The TOMS shoe company has set up a crisis center for people to talk to crisis counselors confidentially, free of charge (text 741741, for more information)

+ On my Nextdoor app (neighborhood social media), someone said “Thank you!” to whoever paid for their hot dog meal at our local Costco. The clerk said that a person had paid for several people’s upcoming meals, who were behind them in line.

+And if you need a laugh, this video had me rolling on the floor laughing:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1241339963704250368

Just hang on, everyone!! We’re going to pull through this, together. Life is meant to be lived. This is just a pause.

Fortune for the Day – “When things are steep, remember to stay level headed.” – Horace (I seriously just pick these out of a little bag, without looking. The Universe knows what its doing.)

Friday, Squirrels, Turkey Chili

In truth, squirrels will never, ever make my Friday favorites list. Happy Friday, all. This has been my family’s first full week of major social distancing. We’ve only really gone out for groceries and medicine. We walk the dogs every night and it is heartening to see others walking their dogs, too, at a distance, of course. Last night, it was very quiet and serene, as not a lot of traffic passed through the streets. I said to my husband, it’s like being at a secluded campground. We both swore that we saw more stars than usual. It was extremely peaceful.

Readers, I typically list about three favorite products, books, websites, songs, etc. that make life a little bit more full of life on Fridays. Please see previous Friday posts for more favorites. In my scramble to fill up our pantry, we have happened upon some new favorites, from a food perspective. Here are my Friday favorites:

Lance ToastChee Spicy Cheddar flavor – These are the best “Lance in your pants” yet. We all love these crackers so much that I’ve noticed packets of them “hidden” in far corners of our cabinets by various members of our family. Of course, I found the secreted ones, because I was trying to “hide” my coveted packages of ToastChee Spicy Cheddar, in the same spots in the cupboard, already taken by my other family members.

Aw Shit Big Cock Ranch spice – We bought this for my husband from a gift shop, as a joke, a few months ago. It even came in it’s own special package, a white bag with the words, “A Bag of Shit.” It was all in good fun. But interestingly, we’ve been adding it to everything that we eat lately and all I can say is, “The shit’s good!” For all of their delicious flavors go to Big Cock Ranch’s website: www.specialshit.com Even if not to buy, go to the website for laughs.

Hormel Turkey Chili with Beans – My husband and sons have eaten this canned stuff, more than once, for lunch. While we are all quarantined together, I’ve agreed to make the dinners, but for the other meals, it’s “every man for themselves,” otherwise known as “Fend For” in my household. This canned delicacy seems to be a favorite. I am not sure if it is about the ease or the taste, but overall, Hormel Turkey Chili is a good one to stock up on.

Stay well, friends!! Happy Friday!! Share in the Comments, any new food favorites you recommend. Recipes are welcome, too!!

All of the Flags

How beautiful! Brazil projected the flags of our countries on to its “Christ the Redeemer” statue last night. As awful as all of this COVID-19 situation is, I do love the feeling of the world working on something together, and putting so much of the hatefulness aside.

This is one of those times in life that I am trying to expand my patience and my understanding of people and their reactions to this experience, and I am also hoping that they are doing the same for me. What is the “right” reaction to these times? Is there even such a thing? It is said that when parents experience the tragedy of losing a child, they are 50 percent more likely to get a divorce. I believe that this has a lot to do with the fact that we all process our emotions, our trials, and our experiences, differently, in an internal sense. We grieve differently, and on different internal time schedules. We know this and yet we are aghast, when externally, people are all behaving so differently towards a situation, that it makes us start questioning our own reasoning and our own sanity. That’s all very uncomfortable, isn’t it?

Like all times in raising children, I am having to hold my ground in what I believe we, as a family, have to do to keep not only our family safe, but also our community safe and our medical workers safe, so that our hospitals aren’t overrun and our doctors aren’t sick. In my opinion, these have to be our priorities. Clearly, not everyone has the same opinion, as I do. Our beaches are packed. It is times like these that I have to remind myself that I can only control my own discernment, my own actions and reactions, and to put the focus back on to myself, and the well-being of me and my family. Everyone processes things differently. Everyone takes time to let things “sink in.” Everyone has different beliefs on how this all should be handled, individually and as a community. And who really knows, who is really “right”?

I think that I have witnessed a lot of denial, and anger, and rebelliousness, in myself at times, and also, with other people. No one wants this to be happening. No one created this virus. No one wants their lives changed instantly, in what feels like a blink of an eye. But, the virus is here. It is causing deaths, and disruptions, and shut-downs, and economic pain, whether we think it should, or not. It is what it is. We can only control our OWN reaction to it. To try to control others’ reactions to it, is futile and a waste of time. To lament and to judge and to resent others’ reactions to it, only causes pain for ourselves. At the same time, we don’t need approval from others about our own decisions and our own reactions.

A reset button has been hit on the world. As a society, we are in a major pause. Many of our lives have been reduced to being “quiet with ourselves”, in a way, which many of us claim to want, all of the time. Yet, a lot of us seem very uncomfortable with this new reality, this new introversion, and so we still try to control everything outside of ourselves. If ever a time, there was going to be the life lesson about self exploration, self examination, self love, self acceptance, now is going to be the time. And the beautiful outcome of that is, if more of us come to that level of self understanding and acceptance, we will feel that same, all-encompassing compassion towards all others, and the world will be an even more beautiful, uplifted place. I see the world as a Phoenix, who will rise beautifully, and cleansed, and simplified, and renewed, from the dark ashes of loss and of fear and doom and sadness.

I thought that Think Smarter (Twitter) put it beautifully, with this post:

Stay well, friends and readers. I love you and I am here for you.

Capeless Heroes

I don’t have the right words today. I have so many large emotions swirling all around my mind and my body. I tend to lash out angrily when I don’t have my balance. I don’t want to do that on my blog. It isn’t helpful.

Here’s what I’m grateful for today: my faith in an all-powerful, all-wise God/Universe, my family and our health, my friends, being in my comfortable home, the beautiful sunshine, our dedicated health workers and first responders and scientists and business heads and all of the world’s leaders tasked with helping us to find the quickest and safest path out of this mess (I’m hating having to make the “bad guy” decisions like scrapping vacation plans and telling my middle son that he can’t see his girlfriend (of 3+ years), until she is home and quarantined for 14 days. I can’t imagine the stress and pain and uncertainty our leaders are feeling, as they make difficult, overwhelming decisions on a daily basis), music, nature, swinging around in my daughter’s hammock, being able to face-time our eldest son, our dogs, fish and guinea pigs, wild birds, grass, kindness (I read a story about a quarantined single mom and kids in Norway who reached out on social media, and asked strangers to make her kids’ birthdays special, while quarantined, by sending them birthday cards. They have been inundated with greeting cards from all over the world, some of them artistic master pieces!), soap (luckily I’ve always been a soap hoarder, because I love great smelling soap), on-line capabilities for work, school and shopping, delivery people, coffee, learning to appreciate home-cooked family meals again, candles, a less-packed calendar, people keeping their sense of humor during difficult times, watching the wind mildly shake the palms, water, the rough times which I have gone through, before in my life, that have helped me to keep perspective, to be more even-keeled and less anxious now . . . . .

What are you grateful for today? Please tell me in the Comments section. Love, peace, serenity. Good juju. I’m sending it all to you.

Sing Me A Song

There are wonderful stories emerging from all of this sadness, confusion and unrest:

This article shows the story and the very moving video of the Italian Air Force, flying their fighter jets to Pavorotti’s music, just a few days ago:

This story speaks of Laura Benanti, a Broadway star, asking students to post their high school performances that now have been cancelled, so that she could be a witness and eager audience to their singing and their performances:

https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/laura-benanti-invites-students-to-sing-canceled-musicals.html

Yo-yo Ma offered an online cello performance to honor all of the brave and dedicated and exhausted, healthcare workers, out on the front lines:

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9335921/yo-yo-ma-cello-suite-no-3-coronavirus

Notice that these three wonderful stories, all featured inspirational music. Yesterday, I sat out on our back porch with my youngest son. He introduced me to “lofi” music. I’m an instant fan. I highly recommend giving listening to “lofi” a try, as we weather out these scary times together. Let’s use my Comments section to share other uplifting stories, happening everywhere to keep the light shining on and around, our beautiful, beautiful world. Here’s a good example of lofi music:

Fortune for the Day – “You carry all the ingredients to turn your existence into joy. Mix them, Mix them!” – Hafiz

Mama’s Here For You

It’s a very interesting experience, blogging through this global health crisis. I am very attached to my blog. It’s one of my creations. I feel very maternal towards it, and thus, towards you, my readers. How are you doing? How are you coping? What can I do for you? How can I comfort you?

I noticed that I feel a major responsibility with this blog. I want to be a constant in your life. I want you to know that I am here for you, on a daily basis. I will not let this connection go, even as we get more and more isolated, in every other realm of our lives. I never thought that I would say this, but thank goodness for all of our technology, and our various ways which we can communicate (instead of just face-to-face). Thank goodness for all of the entertainment we get from our technical gadgets. Last night, I got into a major laugh-fest reading tweets about Generation X. Supposedly, since we Gen-Xers are used to being ignored and abandoned, we are the ones who are truly most suited for quarantine. Who knew? Laughter is really good medicine. I also got a good laugh out of myself. I wore garden gloves to shop in my grocery store yesterday. And I didn’t avert my eyes to anyone. Thankfully, I’ve never been one to embarrass easily.

I’m not going to pretend. I’m disappointed. I’m scared. I’m overwhelmed. I’m angry. I’m sad. I’m putting on a brave face for my family, which is sometimes a majorly pretend facade for what’s crumbling underneath. Sometimes, the facade doesn’t cover up much of anything and then I feel like a failure as the maternal head of household. Still, perfection is not what is called for, here. Showing up and doing the best that we can is all that we need to do, one day at a time. And that’s what we are all doing. We are doing our best, every day, and that is all that is needed. We will prevail. Stay well, friends and readers. I love you!

Soul Sunday

Fortune for the Day – “Turn your face to the sun, and the shadows fall behind you.” – Maori proverb

This is all just so surreal. I am praying that this is all that it is for you, my readers and friends – surreal . . . but, not tragic. I admit, I’m a little bit rattled. I’ve lost my footing, my mojo, my ease of words, just a little bit. All of this will come back: my footing, my mojo, my ease of expression. It will come back for me and it will come back for the world. We will overcome this together. We’ve heard the horror stories of people beating each other up for toilet paper, but more so, the beautiful side of the human spirit is seen in the Italians singing at the same time, every night from their windows and the Spaniards, clapping and praising for their health workers every night and people getting groceries for their elderly neighbors. I want to remain being part of the beautiful side of all this. I don’t want to succumb to my darker sides such as fear, panic, greed, and self-centeredness. The permission to really rest, to really take in and to appreciate nature, to feel the security and the comfort of a full house of family, again, are the gifts that are coming from this otherwise, frightening and sometimes, overwhelming experience. Here’s my poem for the day, friends. New readers, please look at previous Sunday posts for more poetry and please use this blog, as a safe, serene spot, to post and to share your beautiful poems.

Simple Lesson

Let me learn the lessons.

Let this worldly pause, be a time of reflection.

Let me use this time to really notice all that really matters.

Let me truly savor this hiatus which I always claim to be wishing for.

God has pushed the Pause button.

I can fight against it, like a tired, hysterical child,

Or I can take in the lessons, like an earnest student of Life.

Either way, this class will wrap up and the only thing left of it,

will be what I attained from it.

If I gather everything that I can from this experience,

It will be a beautiful addition, to my basket of nourishment,

That basket which I carry with me, throughout my daily living.

Let this experience help me to strengthen and to fortify my basket,

And prune from it, the things that are no longer necessary,

the things that have been weighing me down, without me even noticing.

Let me find the gifts of this experience and to focus on these gifts,

Because the focus on the gifts, is what gives to me,

my serenity, my gratefulness, my calm and my peace.

Perhaps the lesson is a much simpler one than I ever thought it to be.

Dare I say, thank you?

Bring in the Clowns

This was trending on Twitter this morning. I did read about a married couple who were stuck on the Princess cruise ship, who said that the experience of being quarantined, definitely brought the spice back into their relationship. If you need some good laughs, through this otherwise “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad” experience check out #WithEverythingSuspended on Twitter. It will give you some much needed giggles, such as this one:

Hang tight, friends. Stay well. I’ll be here for you. I’m not going anywhere. Literally.

Fortune for the Day – “Don’t search for the answers. Live the questions.” – Rilke

Not So Fun Friday

This is from a poster on Twitter under the heading #EverythingsGonnaBeOkay

What an adorable puppy!! A lot of people have been talking about how, despite the awful circumstances, it’s sort of nice to get back to the simpler pleasures in life. We are all appreciating the sanctity and security that we feel in our own homes, probably more than ever. New readers, on Fridays I typically list three favorite consumption things that I love, like products, or websites or music, etc. I call Fridays, “Favorite Things Friday”. I am not sure that I feel comfortable doing that tradition, today. It just doesn’t feel appropriate. So if you are wanting “favorites” suggestions, please see my previous Friday posts in the archives.

I have to admit, when this contagion first started happening, it felt like a giant over-reaction. I was angry, frustrated, bewildered and I was thinking of myself and my own immediate family and friends, and the plans which we had made, that were getting cancelled left and right. Not too long ago, I was thinking: “If getting infected with this new virus was only going to be like having a bad cold for most of us, why so much concern? ” Then I read this article written by an Italian doctor:

https://www.newsweek.com/young-unafraid-coronavirus-pandemic-good-you-now-stop-killing-people-opinion-1491797

This article really put it all in perspective for me. We all have a social responsibility to each other. We have a major social responsibility to not overload our already overly-taxed medical professionals and our hospitals. There are still plenty of ill people, dealing with other sicknesses and conditions. How will we be able to care for those people, if our hospitals are overflowing with people sick with COVID-19? What if all of our medical professionals and caretakers become ill and are not able to do their jobs? Probably the best thing to come out of this whole situation, it the in-your-face reminder that we are One. We are One global community. We must care about the whole of us, for any one of us, to have normal, healthy, comfortable lives. All for One, and One for All!

We are all sacrificing here (in no particular order of importance): wages, proms, jobs, projects, vacations, graduation ceremonies, reunions, sports events, theater events, feelings of security and safety and health for ourselves and our loved ones, conferences, church ceremonies . . . . the list could go on forever. Let’s be mindful of that, and look at our own daily actions, a little more carefully. We are all feeling disappointment. How are our actions affecting others? Are we behaving socially responsible? If you are elderly, fragile, and/or sickly, please stay in your homes. We don’t want to lose you and we all have made a lot of sacrifices, to try to change the tides. I am shocked at the amount of older, fragile people whom I have witnessed in restaurants, crowded stores and even coming out of nail salons. Seriously! This is the time, when we all come together, and hunker down and unite against this contagion.

Stay well, my dear friends and readers! The clouds always pass. Everything is going to be okay!!!

Thank You, Health Workers, Thank You

Fortune for the day – “Anticipate the good so you may enjoy it.” – Ethiopian proverb

Sometimes it takes something monumentally jarring, to shake us out of our unconscious fog, our dull routines, our smug righteousness, and our unhealthy patterns. On an individual basis that can mean an accident, a job loss, a health scare, a broken relationship, or a death of a loved one, among other things. There is nothing like a crisis to bring our most important priorities into sharp, clear focus. That is the good that comes out of all crises. We quickly remember what we are most grateful for, when whatever that is, is threatened to be taken from us. I pray that we all now realize that our biggest priorities are not our political leanings, the size of our bank accounts, the championships of our favorite teams, or where we are going on vacation this summer. Our biggest priority, clearly, is our collective health, our common humanity, and how we all respond to this health crisis, together, on a global basis. Without good global health, we cannot live life as we know it. Everything we love about living, the everyday experiences, the daily freedoms and joys, quickly get eroded away, until we are all isolated, alone and afraid to do anything. Does it take something this extreme for us to realize how much of living comfortably and easily, we take for granted?

A lot of people who I know, have been comparing the scenes lately in the grocery stores, in the neighborhoods, and on the news channels, to science fiction movies, where we inhabitants of Earth, have one common enemy, that we must come together, in order to defeat it. I always feel so excited and energized and proud, when all of the actors in these sci-fi movies, from every background, every nation, come together, pool their resources and make mince meat out of the “evil” invaders. I hope beyond hope that we have a glorious, reality-TV moment, in the near future, where we muster all of our greatest strength, and all of our collective brilliance, and all of our deepest compassion, from every corner of this globe, and we put this COVID-19 thing behind us, triumphantly, and unitedly.

Most importantly, I want to say thank you, especially to all of the VERY brave health workers out there, all over the globe. Your bravery and sacrifice and calm countenance, is awe-striking. You are showing all of us what is the very best about our humanity. Thank you for that much-needed reminder. You are true, selfless leaders. Thank you for everything. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.