It occurs to me that my posts might give the impression that we’re just nailing or sailing through this pandemic, while others are suffering. I don’t mean to sound privileged or oblivious; I’m very aware of how catastrophic this is, economically and physically. I’m also very conscious of how fortunate we are to be retired with a fixed income, able to pay our mortgage and bills, and stay home and safe for now. Random timing and circumstances worked in our favor, but it could have so easily devastated us along with millions of others.
There’s nothing we or anyone could have done to avoid a disaster this universal, other than taking medical precautions early on. It is no respecter of persons, no matter how special or insulated you think you are. It’s so easy to contract this deadly virus from just one careless person, no matter how conscientious you are. It’s even harder if you’re forced back to work without protections in place because our corrupt president doesn’t give a crap about you. I never take our current fortunate situation for granted.
So please take all my routine gardening, cooking, and occasional ranting with that in mind. I’m extremely mindful of all the hardship and distress all around us, which we’ve been able to dodge so far simply by random chance circumstances and vigilance. My normal level of anxiety is heightened all the time now, and I know I’m not the only one. So I try to focus on a mundane, healthy routine to take my mind off the looming dread, and hope that in the process, perhaps I can help distract or even amuse you as well.
None of us knows if we’ll outlive this thing, or what the new abnormal will look like, but in the meantime you have to live and breathe and carry on, one day at a time, as always. Take Misu the Cat. She’d much rather be outside, but it’s dangerous out there, so she makes the most of a boring situation, and keeps herself amused (or asleep). Inadvertently, she also distracts and entertains us, and reminds us to appreciate what we do have in the present moment.
