An introduction to a new life
The world has changed again. Covid-19 is ravaging the world and none of us have any roadmap as to how to live life inside of a pandemic. Sure there's a few history books, but modern life doesn't fit neatly inside 18th century literature, so we are all finding our own path.
The title of my blog comes from Frances Mayes, "Under the Tuscan Sun": “Any arbitrary turning along the way and I would be elsewhere; I would be different.” and life is certainly turning in unexpected and uncharted ways. I just wanted to collect up my thoughts like leaves and press them in my journal so I never forget....or so maybe no one forgets me.
Basic medical supplies are either gone or running low across the world. I've been spending each night sewing up masks for those who are on the front lines in our hospitals, clinics, and stores. I keep thinking this is so very much exactly what my ancestors did, and yours too. They answered our nations call in times of war and supported the troops, only right now our troops are nurses and grocery workers. I feel an odd calm continuity when I work and sew and I often think "This is what our grandmothers did". When I feel tired or disinterested I just sew a bit more because they did for us.
All around life has changed, and we aren't even the worst hit yet...I can feel a tsunami coming but can't yet see it as I am sure the true beginning of this has yet to touch us. I also feel woefully inadequate as my sewing is terrible but I keep reminding myself of the saying "Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good".
My days are not that different then any other time, just this slight sense of unease permeating the air. I cannot watch the news for too long, the sadness of grieving families and the heroic struggles of health workers on the brink of failure is just too much. In my little note sent to the universe I donated blood 2 days ago, it was all I could do for others.
Our state is on lockdown, we must stay at home. Deliveries are allowed but it doesn't fill in all gaps of daily life. I do watch TV enough to know what is going on and get ideas as to how others in the world are handling this pandemic, and some of it is inspiring and beautiful. In Italy they may be in quarantine in their apartments, but each night citizens gather on balconies to applaud the rescue workers in the hospitals. Frequently a person will go on the balcony and sing beautifully to his whole neighborhood, others often joining in. Across the world we are all singing to eachother across balconies, across websites, across streets and continents. It seems distance has brought us all closer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6r2XtuKEto
Today my day was spent sewing masks and looking for napkins and TP online. As with many items our stores are all sold out of everything as people panic and buy up all the stock. The toilet paper I bought was with shipping $33, normally at the store the same item would be $4. That's just one example of how life has changed.
I sew and shop for TP now...lol, life is funny sometimes.
The odds are if I catch Covid-19 I will live, but that's not a guarantee, the risk is high. As this tsunami of change comes toward us though where we might be on lockdown for 6 months I realize all the time that there is no way to prepare for this, and then later I still find myself trying and wondering how much food we can buy and if we'll have enough to last. The big worry is if trucks stop running, then we are all in trouble and I may have to grow a garden.
I bake. No idea why this is a thing with women under stress but it is. I have found making cinnamon rolls from scratch calms me and gives my stepson a comforting treat so for the foreseeable future I will be baking, at least as long as supplies last.
That's the hardest part, the not knowing. As much unease as I have, we are SO LUCKY. I have lost several people I love in my life, from my fiance to close friends, but this is all so different. They have said you cannot travel to go to a funeral, and gatherings over 10 people are not allowed....but what if I lose my parents? I cannot bear for them to die alone ( all covid patients die alone due to contagion)..and THEN to be buried with no one mourning them. That is one human ceremony I cannot let go of, and I hope fate doesn't make me choose. Stay healthy please....please because I cannot bear the thought of someone I love being alone and feeling so separated. Worse yet is having to put them in the ground with no ceremony shouting in tiny gongs "They were here".
Stay healthy.
The title of my blog comes from Frances Mayes, "Under the Tuscan Sun": “Any arbitrary turning along the way and I would be elsewhere; I would be different.” and life is certainly turning in unexpected and uncharted ways. I just wanted to collect up my thoughts like leaves and press them in my journal so I never forget....or so maybe no one forgets me.
Basic medical supplies are either gone or running low across the world. I've been spending each night sewing up masks for those who are on the front lines in our hospitals, clinics, and stores. I keep thinking this is so very much exactly what my ancestors did, and yours too. They answered our nations call in times of war and supported the troops, only right now our troops are nurses and grocery workers. I feel an odd calm continuity when I work and sew and I often think "This is what our grandmothers did". When I feel tired or disinterested I just sew a bit more because they did for us.
All around life has changed, and we aren't even the worst hit yet...I can feel a tsunami coming but can't yet see it as I am sure the true beginning of this has yet to touch us. I also feel woefully inadequate as my sewing is terrible but I keep reminding myself of the saying "Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good".
My days are not that different then any other time, just this slight sense of unease permeating the air. I cannot watch the news for too long, the sadness of grieving families and the heroic struggles of health workers on the brink of failure is just too much. In my little note sent to the universe I donated blood 2 days ago, it was all I could do for others.
Our state is on lockdown, we must stay at home. Deliveries are allowed but it doesn't fill in all gaps of daily life. I do watch TV enough to know what is going on and get ideas as to how others in the world are handling this pandemic, and some of it is inspiring and beautiful. In Italy they may be in quarantine in their apartments, but each night citizens gather on balconies to applaud the rescue workers in the hospitals. Frequently a person will go on the balcony and sing beautifully to his whole neighborhood, others often joining in. Across the world we are all singing to eachother across balconies, across websites, across streets and continents. It seems distance has brought us all closer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6r2XtuKEto
Today my day was spent sewing masks and looking for napkins and TP online. As with many items our stores are all sold out of everything as people panic and buy up all the stock. The toilet paper I bought was with shipping $33, normally at the store the same item would be $4. That's just one example of how life has changed.
I sew and shop for TP now...lol, life is funny sometimes.
The odds are if I catch Covid-19 I will live, but that's not a guarantee, the risk is high. As this tsunami of change comes toward us though where we might be on lockdown for 6 months I realize all the time that there is no way to prepare for this, and then later I still find myself trying and wondering how much food we can buy and if we'll have enough to last. The big worry is if trucks stop running, then we are all in trouble and I may have to grow a garden.
I bake. No idea why this is a thing with women under stress but it is. I have found making cinnamon rolls from scratch calms me and gives my stepson a comforting treat so for the foreseeable future I will be baking, at least as long as supplies last.
That's the hardest part, the not knowing. As much unease as I have, we are SO LUCKY. I have lost several people I love in my life, from my fiance to close friends, but this is all so different. They have said you cannot travel to go to a funeral, and gatherings over 10 people are not allowed....but what if I lose my parents? I cannot bear for them to die alone ( all covid patients die alone due to contagion)..and THEN to be buried with no one mourning them. That is one human ceremony I cannot let go of, and I hope fate doesn't make me choose. Stay healthy please....please because I cannot bear the thought of someone I love being alone and feeling so separated. Worse yet is having to put them in the ground with no ceremony shouting in tiny gongs "They were here".
Stay healthy.
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