Insanity ramps up....

 

                        May 23, 2020 - May 31, 2020

The currently popular phrase alone together may go down in history as the "greatest" oxymoron ever, perhaps second only to living death. Call it plague humor.  Must also note that "day confusion" is a very real thing. I find myself checking to see what day it is -- sometimes more than once a day. I know for a fact that I enjoyed three Saturdays last week alone. I also know that I am not alone in this. 

The hygiene tip of the day continues to be keep your hands clean and away from your face.  People are also sterilizing their eyeglasses in phone sterilizers.  The world is weird/weirder. 

The schools have been closed for almost three months now. Memorial Day plans are cancelled across the country. It is times like this that I wish I had a flag pole. I would hoist a flag and pretend that all is well.

Some people have not seen their adult children or grandchildren now for over two months. The reverse is also true. Some seem to be curling up in a corner. Others are binge watching reruns on tv. No new shows or movies are being made. We all struggle to get through the days in our own way. Personally I have to believe that people need fresh air and other human beings more than lockdowns and isolation. Is that not common sense?

Some stores have reopened now, but no one is allowed to try on or return clothes.  It's not possible to donate anything either.  Crazy times.

I hired a mobile mechanic to work on my old lawnmower.  Who knew you could even do that? People are resilient and amazing - especially in hard times.

George Floyd is killed in Minneapolis. The country is stunned. Rioters react by destroying their own city. Obviously stupidity is rampant. The mainstream media describes the riots as "mostly peaceful" as Minneapolis burns behind them  --  on camera. Yes... stupidity is rampant.  The mainstream media thinks they can tell us what to think. They are wrong.  Insanity ramps up.

Summer recreation programs for children are cancelled across the country. The damage to our young continues in so many ways.

Received another email from Nancy Pelosi begging for money. I wouldn't give her a cent even if she shared her ice cream.  She is concerned that Texas is threatening her chances of expanding the Democratic majority. My question is "Why am I receiving emails from any Democrat?"  It's okay though -- let's me know where "they" are coming from and where they hope to go.  Bring the email on. I will not be intimidated no matter how mean they get. I refuse to be cancelled. 

Times are nuts.  One of my neighbors told me yesterday that he will shoot my dog the next time he sees it.  I do not have a dog.  My grandchildren do and she is here occasionally and is entirely contained on my property by invisible fencing. If this neighbor stayed off my property, there would not be an issue.  Obviously.  I can't help but think that that he underestimates my quiet wrath at the mere thought of him killing my grandchildren's dog. Like my Dad and Robert Frost said ... "Good fences make good neighbors."  A fence that one can see and difficult or impossible to climb would keep him safe ... which is, of course, the most important thing. I would never want anyone injured even if they were encroaching on my property.   Putting up an impressive fence gives me something to ponder at the moment. I know the perfect fence guy too. People need work. This may happen soon. Calm the storm. It's a simple remedy to a complicated situation and people and beloved animals would remain safe.

With barber shops and hair salons still locked down... there are more and more people with gray and white hair.  There are also more bedraggled looking heads of hair.  Reminds me of my college days in the late 60s and early 70s. I find it somehow amusing. I look for things to make me smile these days.  I think anyone hanging on to a ray of light does.

Times are crazy on so many levels.  We plod on.  What other choice do we have?  Just need to keep track of what is going on. We must be aware and document so as to remember. I also think we need to keep an eye on who is making money in or enhancing their power by this pandemic.  There is evil in the world and it is not a covid virus. It's worse than that. Insidious. Beware of those who accuse you of doing everything that they are actually doing. Keep your eyes open and your brain alert. 

Hidden Wounds

                           

                           May 16, 2020 through May 22, 2020

So... my daughter's 40th surprise birthday party came off without a hitch.  Her kids and a couple of neighborhood kids did all the decorating. They were an impressive team.  They texted me "Go!" when their Dad managed to get my daughter out of the house for a few minutes, and all four kids were outside in the pouring rain when I got there about two minutes later with the necessary supplies that we had bought together the previous week during a rare masked outing. They unloaded the Jeep in about 3 seconds flat.  By the time I got my vehicle parked behind a neighbor's enormous rhododendron bush and got back to the house, they were blowing up balloons, arranging plates, eating utensils, napkins, etc.,  and had everything ready in an half an hour. I did basically nothing but watch in awe, and the guests began to arrive within 15 minutes.  The surprise was a success! A good time was had by all. Restorative. We do cherish those few moments of normalcy in these nutty times. I think everyone there craved a bit of a reentry into family life.  It was lovely. By the end of the afternoon, men were gathered on the back deck solving the problems of the world, women were gathered around the table laughing and talking, kids were jumping on a trampoline in the rain.  Smiles everywhere.  I felt young again. It was a gift of a day not only to my wonderful daughter, but to everyone there... a touch of what life used to be before what I have come to think of as the damncovid.

In the meantime...

Politicians across the country are breaking every rule they impose on the common person, because they think they are "special".  I think I may understand now why people hate politicians sometimes.

There is a high school in New Hampshire that is using a local ski resort for their graduation.  The grads will ride in the chair lift. Ingenuity at its best.

Drive-by bridal and baby showers are now a real thing.

Friends are gathering in parking lots, driveways, on patios and open spaces.  Socially distanced  --  Face to Face chats are a necessity for sanity.

Daily emails with favorite people are becoming mandatory. The virus has everyone on edge a bit and emotions tend to be close to the surface. I find myself even writing thank you notes to the mailman and garbage pickup guys.  They write back.  Sign of the times.  

The Covid fearful wear masks when driving alone in their cars.  Only they understand why they do this.

Some businesses are now being allowed to call workers back in to work. How have people been surviving?

The world continues to take deep breaths and shutter a bit as they exhale.

A PA Health Official moved her mother out of a nursing home just before ordering the nursing home to allow recovering COVID patients to be returned.  Yes -- government officials deserve their unpopularity at times.

There is not a Lysol or Clorox wipe to be found anywhere. 

First doctors said that we had to lock down until a vaccine is developed. Now the same doctors are saying that locking down too long may cause irreparable damage.  Suicides in some states outnumber covid related deaths.

Hidden wounds of living during a pandemic begin to fester.

This Is Our Covid Life

                                               

                                 May 9, 2020 to May 15,2020 

Woke up to a dusting of snow.  May 9th. Snow.  You read that right.  Crazy year for sure. Schools continue to disappoint -- it's always a focus on why we can't do this because.... I wish the world would start to shift to  -- Here's the plan. Let's try this.

Spent Mother's Day cooking an enormous batch of fried rice with family... always a fun time.

On the political front...  In spite of what Adam Schiff continues to say -- there is no evidence that Trump colluded with Russia on anything.  "The truth will out." Also on the political front... Pelosi suggests voting for her latest bill and reading it later.  Does she listen to herself?

In personal news, my local grandson is now taller than I am having grown about 8 inches in the past year.  Now that is a growth spurt.

In an effort to survive, a small restaurant in town opened for sit down inside business rather than take out only and of course a person who some might describe as a control seeking, virtue signaling asshat reported them and they were threatened with fines and headed toward shutdown shortly thereafter. So much for live and let live.  Alas -- some are strangers to tolerance of others with whom they disagree. Some things never change. It's sad.

There are serious issues with mail-in voting.  I personally received two ballots in the mail after calling the Election Office to have my name removed from the mail-in list. I shredded them with great dramatic flair. It's not a very tight system.  Dangerous for election integrity.

People are finding it difficult to leave Michigan with a Cruella de Ville type character in charge there. People are beginning to reference Michigan as a police state. One can get arrested there for taking a ride to get out of the house for a few minutes.

Went to the store with my local grandkids to get paper plates, party hats, etc. for a small family surprise party for their mom's birthday that was a month ago.  Who's counting? Belated Birthdays are fun too. Days run together. My grandson mentioned that they had not been to a store in two months.  We were masked -- to avoid confrontation with and to be respectful of the covid fearful.  Once again -- thankful I don't live in Michigan.

There is now color coding of geographic areas.  Yellow is relatively a good color to be as we struggle to hope that the world will get back to normal sooner rather than later. This is our Covid life.  Not a fan.

Morale Busters

 

                        May 1, 2020 through May 8, 2020

The challenges continue. May 1st I managed to take my local grandkids out for a Jeep ride around the area.  They have been stuck in a too small world for too long. We just drove any where they wanted to go and then returned home to bake cookies. The world is still out there .. waiting patiently for sanity to return.

The world also seems to be waking up a bit and stretching carefully.  Yet working from home continues and schools are still locked down.  Proms, Graduations, Spring Sports, Awards assemblies do not exist across the country. Not sure what all is happening in the rest of the world. You just get a glimpse here and there. The quiet is sometimes deafening. 

The "all women should be believed mentality" still prevails.  Obviously those who think that have never worked with cliques of teenage girls or served on a committee with women who have an agenda. Poor Judge Kavanaugh.

• Drive thru covid testing is a real thing.
• Arrows on the floors of stores -- one way traffic -- social distancing
• murder hornets moving east from the west coast (Why does everything weird seem to start in California?)
• Governor Cuomo of NY sends Covid patients back to nursing homes with disastrous and tragic results among vulnerable people.

Those in power and so-called experts are fumbling their way through. Actually we are all.  No one seems to have any idea of what to do. As I struggle through so much that I don't understand, I try to keep my focus on the things that I am able to do something about.  It's not much, but my house is cleaner and more organized than ever before. So ... there is that ... for what that is worth. Am thinking I should invest in hand moisturizing lotion.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

 

                            April 26, 2020 to April 30, 2020

I cannot find a mask anywhere, so am wearing a cowboy bandana when I am forced to go out into the world.  It makes me feel claustrophobic and anxious so much so that I find it hard to breathe. I think I am holding my breath for some dumb reason. Plus wearing a face covering fogs my glasses. How do the women of some cultures do this for their entire lives? I am not adjusting well to this pandemic or to government and culturally enforced rules. 

Meanwhile in the outside world:

• There are signs that the stay-at-home orders will be lifted.
• It has come to light that Anthony Fauci has donated almost 4 million dollars to the Wuhan Laboratory where it appears that the "incident" took place.  
• It also appears that American tax dollars went to fund that lab under the Obama administration.  
• Still no cases of the "rona" locally or anywhere nearby, but Covid Fear is becoming a real illness. Then, in contrast, ... there are those who are beginning to hug loved ones again.  They seem to cry less and smile more than the Covid Fearful.  It seems that Covid Fearful people, more often than not, are mean to and intolerant of those who are less afraid. The world is sad.  Fear doesn't help.
• Birthday drive-bys make me cry.  The mere thought of them is enough to reduce me to tears.  Then again -- whoever thought of them is a genius and kind soul really.
• I feel like I am a captive. I don't respond well to being told what to do or how to live my life.  Good thing I don't live in Michigan where things are really beyond restrictive.
• The world seems to have forgotten about natural immunity and that most masks really don't prevent anything. Duh.
• Like a good friend says: "Some days are so hard that I feel like I am standing in a puddle."  I know she is not alone in this.

So... the pandemic continues.  The difficulties of living during a pandemic continue as well. And today -- I am still trying to figure out what lessons I have learned from all of this.