It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is.
And when you’ve got it, you want–
oh, you don’t quite know what it is you want,
but it just fairly makes your heart ache,
you want it so!
Mark Twain
Hi Everyone!
How ironic is the above quote from Mark Twain? Spring FEVER – pffft! Ha!
But the part about what we want is so true. Our hearts are aching for our former lives – to hug our family members that don’t live with us. To be able to go to the grocery store without getting suspicious glances or have people pull to the other side of the aisle passing by someone, or us feeling the same way about others. To not wonder if things will ever go back to the way they were. Yes, our hearts ache…
However, as we have seen and heard in many places, there are many blessings in this crisis. I understand how difficult and possibly insulting that statement is for those who have lost loved ones or have someone in the hospital struggling right now. I am certain I am not alone when I say we all wish the absolute best for anyone involved in those situations – whether experiencing or watching, or being forbidden to watch. Our hearts ache…
Oh yes, the pets are loving it! Families are cooking together and playing games and doing all sorts of things they would never have done before. But while there are not a lot of trauma situations like car accidents and break-ins (thankfully), there is a rise in domestic violence. Some can live together peacefully and healthily, but for others … their hearts ache…
Do you have a Thank You Heart at your home?
Have you tried making masks or donating something?
How about supporting your local restaurants with take-out?
Have you bought any gift cards for the future? (Our spiritual and holistic practitioners are perfect recipients!!!)i
If an event was cancelled, did you get a refund or did you consider donating the cost of your ticket to the struggling venue (Bushnell, Goodspeed, Hartford Stage, Warner, etc.)?
Perhaps check with the wildlife rescue centers – they are really struggling to support their animals right. My lovey opossum spots are Roaring Brook in Canton and Ferncroft in Woodstock. They both have Facebook pages and you can check out the animals (especially the videos of Lavendar and Patch on the Ferncroft page)
You can support nurseries and landscapers.
When you pick up take-out food, consider a larger-than-normal tip.
A very kind soul ordered the masks I recommended from Custom Ink and reported back that they were single ply, which is great for personal use and home care workers, but not for hospital staff. They have now added triple ply masks, in case anyone is interested in purchasing some of those.
I finished my first 1000 piece puzzle of the quarantine. I have many more to choose from (kinda have a bit of a jigsaw puzzle addiction), but I also have a 3000 and a 5000 piece puzzle. Not sure I’m up to that, but maybe… My older daughter just purchased online a 3000 piece Nickelodeon puzzle for her first puzzle ownership attempt. Ambitious! There are also adult coloring books you can just print off and use crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
In the past week, I have taken or attended online classes/workshops with Suze Orman, Thomas Moore, Mike Dooley, Tammy Mastroberte, and some others. What fun!
I also sorted my entire large book shelf and have a lot of books to go to the used Book Nook at our next Soul Light Expo! Of course, everything is organized by category, and I found a lot of books that I have yet to read. And that creates a whole new problem – which one to read first!
What have you been doing? Please do share your quarantine journeys with someone. Laugh about the strange ways we need to do things now. Share the ways your heart aches. But do reach out. For introverts, the joke is that this situation is a dream come true. But for those split as intro-extroverts and full extroverts, this is extremely painful.
Find a way to make it work!
Find the best in the situation!
Do new and interesting things that you’ve never done before!
I actually reached out to a couple of friends and asked if they would like to do dinner by parking our cars next to each other. Why not?!
And above all, as always
Stay smart
Stay safe