I’ve had a lot of “new normals” in my life. Two divorces found me as a single parent each time, trying to figure out how I was going to make it on my own. 9/11 left us all trying to wrap our heads around this feeling of no longer being safe. Losing Mr. Virgo left me broken and lost, yet determined to find out who I was in this world. Then the pandemic hit and the state of emergency was called on March 13th and everything changed.
I’ve been posting the “Day Number” in front of every post since 3/13 but didn’t realize I was off by a few days. Yesterday was 200 days of New Normal. It’s been a really trying time for most of us. At least, it has been for me. It all started between Mr. FixIt’s two strokes and I didn’t know what to think. But, just like I knew instinctively that I needed to put something joyful in front of me to survive losing Mr. Virgo, I knew I needed to put something in front of me to get through this crisis as well.
Serendipitously, spring was on its way and there was much to look forward to. After spending three solid weeks glued to the television watching a deadly disease run rampant around the world, Mr. FixIt’s second stroke hit and I was knocked sideways again. That’s when my friend Kate sent me some of her sourdough starter. And I found my “something joyful” to put in front of me to get through this season. I found it in my kitchen.
There are many seasons in life and not a single one of them is predictable. When we are faced with trying times, we can either choose to bury our heads in the sand and float along the surface as best we can…trying not to drown. Or, we can dive headfirst into the waves and find out what strong swimmers we are. I was never a very strong swimmer…in the water. But in the seas of life? I’m getting to be a boss!
You will find yourself swimming upstream so many times in your life. It’s not easy to do when there’s all those rocks and rapids and obstacles thrown in your way. The best advice I can give you is…keep paddling. Keep fighting the fight. Keep standing back up. And, every once in a while, sit on the bank and take a breather. Look back downstream and see how far you’ve come.
Find something…anything that’s joyful…and keep paddling towards it, my friends.
We’ve got this.
❤️
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9 NIV
I’ve been fortunate these past 10 weeks to be part of a crew of friends maintaining a large home garden and grounds of a friend who was suddenly hospitalized. Then this summer we were hit with back-to-back heat spells of 100F for days. We marshaled our time, talents and hoses to keep her garden alive and pampered, and we succeeded.
She’s coming home from rehab in two days and her roses have recovered enough to be budded and blooming for her return. Her veg garden is ready to harvest, and we can help with that as well. It’s been such a blessing to have been able to be of help, to cosset her beautiful grounds so they will welcome her home. It’s an experience I will never forget. Sometimes the very best place to look when troubled is OUTward: “where can I be of help, so I can help myself.”
❤️❤️❤️