Finding something to write about.....

 I was told more than once when I have nothing to write about WRITE and see what happens.

So here I sit with not one thing in my head to make the topic for this week.

I have the Lady Gamecock game on in the background.  Listening to the squeaking of their shoes on the wood floor.

From my kitchen window, I can see the azaleas blooming.

Yesterday as I ran errands, I could see leaves starting to sprout on the trees.

Spring.

The renewal of life that is part of the yearly and life cycle.

After being home for the last year, I have really missed making choices.

Do I go out? Do I head to the pool? Do we invite people for a visit? Do I? Do I? Do I?

The answer for the last year has been NO.

Now, it feels like we might be turning the corner.

I read one of my FB memories from last year that I was happy because I found a London Broil at the supermarket.

Maybe the last twelve months was a lesson. A lesson about freedom, choices and learning to appreciate life as we lived it....before.

In some ways,  it reminds me of life after 9/11.  Our lives never went totally back to the way they were prior to that date.

I don’t think life will ever be as easy as pre-COVID.

Yes, toilet paper is back on the shelves and cleaning supplies are easier to find.

People have the choice to schedule the vaccine. I will be getting my first dose this week, after trying for weeks to get it scheduled.

As life starts to open up what will have changed?

I don’t think I would go to a movie theatre again. Or if I was in New York, to a Broadway show (I am not willing to be so close to people in tight quarters).

Dining in a restaurant, probably not.

Traveling through airports, no, but then again I have panic attacks in crowds. Meaning an airport would be at the bottom of my list of places to travel through even if the last year hadn’t happened.

I see many people I know going out maskless in crowds as if the last year didn’t happen.  Their choice, their freedom just not for me.

Knowing I will never return to the office I left last year, my friend and I were saying the office must look like something out of the Twilight Zone. Year old calendars with pages left unturned, pens and papers left askew on the desks we assumed we would return to the next Monday.

I have spent a lot more time on the phone staying connected with people.

I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss people. I miss hugs (yes, I do LOL).

I now appreciate the new normalcies of life such as driving to pick up the Instacart groceries.

I want to be able to just sit outdoors and wave to my neighbors but the pollen count is high and by the time that time of year has moved on the heat will start to kick in,

Yesterday, I saw pictures of my brother coloring Easter eggs with his grandchildren.  Meanwhile, one of my cousins across the country was enjoying some last ski runs for the year.

The cycle of the year and of life.

I do believe we are close to turning the corner on the year that was.

Those who lost their lives in there last year will leave holes in the makeup of many families.

We will talk about the last year, what we gained and what we lost and what has changed for a long time. 

It reminds me of hearing my Dad talk about what it was like to live through the Depression or a World War.

My quote this week comes from Grey’s Anatomy.

“We owe it to the people we lost to live the lives they can’t.” Dr. Maggie Pierce

I am going to try and do my best to do exactly that and see how it goes.

Meanwhile, my dog, Jeter, continues to show his stress levels each day:

Oh and in case you are wondering, the Lady Gamecocks just won and are moving on to the Elite Eight !

See you next week.

366 days and what I have learned

Another good Winnie the Pooh quote, “It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine.”

 Like most of you, I cannot believe I have not stepped in my “real”  office in over a year.

366 days to be exact.

Initially, I thought I would be home for two weeks, then a month, then six months and now here I am a year later.

Through all the seasons and holidays, I have been home.

365 days of sleeping in my own bed vs a few nights a week at a good friends house.

I have learned how to separate my off hours from my work hours even at home.

Not once in the last year have I worked in my pj’s.

I have “work” clothes.  

I have a routine, out of bed and into the shower, brush my teeth and hair, take my med’s and get dressed for “the office.”

Jeter and I walk to the kitchen/office, where my monitors and laptop sit waiting. 

I flip on the light and the office is up and running.

The days are longer at my kitchen table but the commute and hours in the car are none existent.

Shortly after my day starts, the barista arrives and provides me with my morning cup of Joe.

I keep music or news on in the background as white noise.

I can see my neighbors walking by or riding their bikes by or see a passing golf cart.

There have been many days when it is dark when I start working and it dark once again when I close the office for the day.

When I want a change in scene, I grab my laptop and work in the living room from my recliner.

In the last 366 days, so much has changed.

Remote work is no longer unusual.

Masks are no longer unusual.

I miss people more than I thought I would.

I miss maybe one day a week in the office for socialization.

I love instacart, curbside pickup, virtual appointments, online shopping and on alternating days the UPS man or the FedEx man.

I have saved money on gas and wear and tear on my car but my grocery bill has gone up.

The world now allows for drive up blood work and vaccinations (when you can get them).

I went out two days in a row this week which was a big event.  It did feel good but a little intimidating.

Going for a long overdue eye exam became an event as you observe all the rules.

Running out of virtual dr visits and finally having to schedule a real appointment was something to deal with.  

I was able to get a new job during this crazy time. Phone interviews and a job offer, it was a huge God Wink.

I have traveled this year, virtually. I have been to the Smithsonian, Buckingham Palace, MOMA and Italy.

While the world is slowly starting to open up, I am moving even slower.

My comfort level is very, very wary and cautious. 

Plus I have still not been able to get the vaccine.

I am not sure I will ever be the Donna I was on March 12, 2020.

As my world got smaller, I accepted it.  It was easier to shut down than to open up.

For me to celebrate going out two days in a row shows how much I have changed.

Leaving the house without a mask? No way.

Gatherings with no social distancing? Nope.

And we are 10 weeks to Memorial Day which for me means the year is over.  

The months that follow just fly.

Look how fast the last 12 months went.

In case I don’t get to see you and chances are I won’t, Happy Easter, Happy Mother’s Day, Happy Memorial Day, Happy Father’s Day, Happy July 4th, Happy Labor Day, Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.

There now I can say I covered it all.

See you next week.