".....and this little piggy stayed home....."

As the children’s rhyme says we can really only be the second toe these days! We are all here together in some sort of a new normal and trying to find different ways to cope and live and soothe ourselves and support others. It is a strange and scary time.

I live in a house built in 1745 with three history buffs in my immediate family. I also have a parent, two aunts and a father-in-law who are all very functional and in their late 80’s and early 90’s. My relationships with my surroundings and these relatives are constantly dragging my perspective back in time. Sitting in my old living room, it is easy to feel what folks did in the evenings. They spent hours reading by candle light or doing needle work with much less social connection but appreciation for that day that their family was safe and healthy for that moment. Sometimes I wonder if their ignorance, due to lack of communication, was protective and healthy. Recently, this pull backwards in time for me holds a reminder of how blessed and potentially bothered we are to have technology. It’s a love and hate relationship.

The convenience of technology is obvious these days. I can still run sessions with all my clients doing Zoom meetings. My adolescents can face time their friends and text and play video games with peers. My husband can be on conference calls and WebEx meetings. I have home schooling friends who are finding resources to support their children’s academics in very cool creative ways. Teachers are holding Google Classroom classes. I was able have a virtual dinner with my 88 and 90-year old father and his sister. I also easily shared a podcast with them that I had found entertaining. We can Face Time later to discuss it as a group. I have had virtual workouts and yoga classes. Our social distancing is truly just distancing. I am feeling quite social!

All that said, I am more aware than ever about the difficulties for our first responders and their families. They are in constant need by our communities and are supporting those who can’t support themselves. Heroic and doing their job. I am concerned for those facing a financial crisis. There is a lot of talk about financial relief for these folks, but will it be too little, too late?

Why have we been so slow to respond to this crisis as a nation? Are folks getting supported? Where are the actual face masks? When will it be safe to return to our old lives and what will that truly look like going forward? The news seems to be constant, conflicting and full of lots of spin and the volume is tremendous.

This is just a simple blog post. It’s not a vaccine. And it’s not a return to normal. But hopefully, it offers readers some entertainment, distraction and shares my perspective of where I am today. The irony is not lost on me!

Perhaps I will pull out a sewing project for my evening by the fire! This little piggy is staying home!