Here we are, another week of stay-at-home orders, the second Wednesday in April. Welcome to my third cocktail hour, a virtual world where we STAY HOME and drink. 🙂 Drink plenty of water at the very least. Or gargle with saltwater or drink orange juice, grape juice, kombucha, or hot apple cider. Or imbibe in coffee, tea, wine, beer, or even something harder. Fluids will help, or so they say. Let’s pour them down.
Though you may not feel it deep inside, I offer you Cheers! À votre santé! 乾杯/ Kanpai! Saúde! Salud! May we all remain healthy, safe, financially afloat, and hopeful despite the barrage of bad news.
Here’s my last week’s diary.
Thursday, April 2: My daughter and I started a project today. We each put 10 nouns in a bag, drew out three, and then shared them with each other, making a total of six words to work with. By Tuesday, April 14, we are to write a short story using the six words. The words are: chaise lounge, nostalgia, grapefruit juice, yellow raincoat, monopoly, and fountain pen.
Today, according to NPR, a record 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment, a dismal record showing the halting of our economy due to the coronavirus.
Friday, April 3: Today we got a text from our son in Costa Rica:
Damn today I’m feeling doubts that I made the right decision coming here. I feel like a wimp, so grateful for my experience so far but really missing having water that doesn’t immediately make me [have stomach issues] lol. Still hoping things will get better but no change so far. Was looking at flights and doesn’t look like anything available for another month.
I’ve been getting a strong reflection hanging out with that guy I told you about who’s exactly like me, kinda annoying hahaha 🤣, making me look at myself a little differently.
Anyway just wanted to let you know I love you guys and miss you lots and I’m sorry for being so negative and judgemental and projecting sometimes. I switched to bottled water today but still pushing lots of liquids through so pray for my [stomach] hahaha. Trying to find a SIM card somewhere too… I may end up renting a moped tomorrow to get to more of a town center where they may have something for me.
We told him he could book his flight on the next available flight in one month if he wanted to come home, but we don’t have any idea if he will do that. We had to admit we smiled a bit at this text as sometimes it’s good when he sees himself in others and doesn’t like what he sees. I really do wish he hadn’t gone to a foreign country where he’s now unable to get back home. This makes me very nervous, his inability to return home.
Saturday, April 4: I was feeling quite down today with all the bad news about coronavirus and the economy; I really couldn’t get myself to believe that all of this would come to an end eventually. It seems like a solution is very far away.
Sunday, April 5: We are enjoying our new Sunday morning routine of watching the Church of the Holy Comforter church service after we eat breakfast. We get comfortable on our bed with a cup of coffee. Here is the Palm Sunday service we watched today:
After we watched the church service, we took up an invitation for a walk. I had heard from Tamsin of Walking without a donkey about Walk This Weekend #walkgoesviral. It’s a short walk that people are taking wherever they are in the world to collect sounds, thoughts and feelings to then share with folk who cannot leave their homes. You can find more about it on Tamsin’s blog: Walk this Weekend.
I walked between 11:13 a.m. and 12:37 p.m. (1 hour 24 minutes); recorded sound at minute 45; sat, listened and wrote at minute 53-55; took photos at minute 11 (because I love cherry blossoms),12 (I liked the message on the painted stone), 13 (I love Japanese maples), 14 (I like hyacinths), 16 (I love the cherry blossoms up close), 50 (to show the path through the woods), 62 (because skunk cabbage is a cheery green in an otherwise drab brown woods), 63 (I love moss), and 75 (I liked the lines formed by the fallen trees); My route began and ended at my home in Northern Virginia. I went down the hill in my neighborhood, through two more neighborhoods, then through a gravel and dirt trail through the Difficult Run Stream Valley … And I ended back where I started (see the map).
We heard a woodpecker, many birds chirping, the shuffle of dead leaves on the ground, an airplane overhead, people in their yards with weed whackers and mowers, a breeze tickling the leaves, squirrels and chipmunks scampering through the forest, a dog barking. It was a beautiful day, about 60 degrees and sunny; getting out in the spring day made me feel very hopeful.
Sunday night, my daughter in Richmond, my son and his girlfriend in Denver, and Mike and I had a Zoom meeting where we played the Hey Robot game with Alexa, drank wine, chatted, and had a lot of laughs. We were online for about two hours; it was great to spend virtual time with the family. 🙂
Monday, April 6: This morning I found out that in Ecuador, where I had hoped to go this coming July, bodies are piling up in the streets. From the L.A. Times: “The country has confirmed 2,700 infections and 93 deaths — 60 of them in Guayaquil and its immediate surroundings. But municipal officials there said they have recovered at least 400 bodies in recent days.” Lack of testing and inadequate facilities to handle such large numbers of deaths, along with a slow response by the government to the coronavirus are cited as reasons.
Hearing about this situation in Ecuador makes me fear for the safety of my son now stuck in Costa Rica.
I found this video from Lana del Ray, “When the World Was at War;” in the song, the singer asks the question: “Is it the end of America?” Certainly this coronavirus pandemic could spell the end of America as a world power, if that hasn’t already happened due to our horrific leadership. It is interesting that the singer uses film clips from the movie Malèna, a story that takes place during World War II. I try to keep reminding myself that people in London survived years of the Blitz, and the world was embroiled in that horrible war for years. People can be resilient, of course, but also, people will absolutely suffer and/or die.
Tuesday, April 7: Today is the Pink Moon, a supermoon and the first full moon of spring. The April full moon often coincides with the blooming of creeping phlox or moss phlox, often known as “moss pink.”
Today, I listened to the Davidji meditation: Accepting This Moment Meditation Series: #5 Mastering Uncertainty. He said uncertainty is frightening because of the feeling we have that a situation could go on forever. To manage the uncertainty, pick a moment that the uncertainty starts (say if you lose your job or get a diagnosis), and an end moment to the uncertainty, some date in the future. Breathe in, then breathe out saying the mantra Om Moksha Ritam. (He says Om is the vibration of the universe, Moksha is our emotional field, and Ritam is rhythm.) I like this idea of managing the uncertainty by putting an end date to it; even if the date is wrong and we have to revise it later, it reminds us that the uncertain situation is not infinite.
Wednesday, April 8: I had my Spanish class by Zoom this morning. Several of my classmates have dropped out because they find it difficult to have a class on Zoom with their kids and dogs underfoot. It was nice to see everyone, and my friend Poonam made a joke that she would have to get dressed up to take her garbage out. We all had a good laugh at that.
Today we found out that John Prine died from the coronavirus at age 73. He will be sorely missed. Here is one of my favorite songs of his, “Summer’s End.”
As of today, we have 399,929 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S., with 12,956 deaths. 😦
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In the midst of all this, what can we do to make the most of our stay-at-home orders? I’ve created a page where I’ll share different ideas I’ve come across of ways to cope during the coronavirus. It is here: how to make the most of a staycation... or how to cope during the coronavirus #Stayathome orders. If you have any positive ways to get through this, I invite you to share: bits of humor, projects, what we can do to help others, how to keep our sanity, TV shows or movies to watch, books to read, exercises to do, etc. Please feel free to express your emotions during this trying time as well. I’m sure we can all relate to any and all emotions you are feeling.
I wish you all the best during this crisis. Stay at home, and stay safe, healthy and always hopeful.
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I’m going to write a cocktail hour/diary about this challenging time either weekly or bi-weekly on Wednesdays, depending on how much I have to share. I invite you to share your own experiences with what we’re going through right now, either in the comments below, or in your own blog post, which I invite you to link below. I’ll try to keep writing this as long as we are suffering through this together. I hope that we will get through it unscathed, sooner rather than later.
Peace and love be with you all!
You certainly have a lot to keep you occupied! The idea of focusing your walk like that is a good one.
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That walk was Tamsin’s idea; she wrote me to tell me about it. I hope people will try it. 🙂
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What a rich post . At least you’re still able to get out and walk – me too, and that makes me feel very lucky. I’m sorry about your anxiety about your son – that level of separation is very hard. I’m off to your link to the Page of Ideas. That is a good idea.
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I think you have a lot more scenic places to walk than I do in my little suburban area, Meg. I hope you keep getting outdoors and soaking up the sunshine. I heard from my son yesterday and he’s actually doing well now and has no intention of coming home for the time being (he couldn’t until the end of May anyway). By the way, I had created that new page and forgot to allow comments. I’ve fixed it now, so I hope you’ll add your ideas. You’re always very creative, Meg! Keep safe, my friend, and healthy and hopeful. 🙂
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Re your “Staycation” page – I don’t seem to be able to like or comment. Me? Or another problem??
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No, it was my problem. I forgot to allow comments, and now it’s fixed! So I hope you’ll add yours. 🙂
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Your walk sounds lovely Cathy. I’ve been going for an early morning walk for 30 minutes every day, just around our neighbourhood. There are beautiful rural views and it’s very peaceful. I find my thoughts just wander as I go. It’s quite relaxing.
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Maybe you could add your walk to Tamsin’s walk. I’m glad you get out every day for a relaxing morning walk. It sounds wonderful. I know it helps my state of mind when I get outside.
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Walking is certainly good for both your body and mind Cathy, especially if you do, as you did, concentrate on the beauty around you instead of turning your thoughts inward and worrying about things that you have no control over. Do the best you can with what you have and always be thankful for small blessings.
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Yes, I like this idea of Tamsin’s to listen attentively to the sounds around you when you walk. Yes, we have to be thankful for the small blessings, especially during this troubled time. Thank you, Pauline. 🙂
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In times of stress I always recall the AA mantra “…accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can,”
Stay strong. You seem to have lots to occupy you. Me. I just carry on as usual. Though of course there is nothing usual about the state of affairs right now.
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Yes, the AA mantra is always a good one, for sure. My life is pretty much the same as usual too, except for all my travel plans falling by the wayside, and the curtailing of freedom to just hop in the car and go anywhere I please. I don’t like losing freedoms, but it will have to be on hold for the time being. There is definitely nothing usual about the situation we find ourselves in now. Keep safe and healthy, Jude!
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So much in this post. We’re living in strange times. I heard a question recently that has fascinated me, and almost brings a sense of comfort: What do you want to become on the other side of this? It implies another side, for one thing, and for another, choices. I think we sometimes the anxiety we feel is because we don’t think we have many choices left to us right now.
Sláinte, Cathy! There have been moments throughout this when I regretted giving up alcohol, but I think the herbal teas, water, and mocktails with fruit juice are probably serving me better for now (alcohol always ramped up my anxiety levels). Even so, it would be nice to join my husband (or friends, via Zoom) and have a glass of wine or a good beer every now and then. 🙂
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These are definitely strange and unsettling times, Robin. I like that question; it’s definitely a good one to ponder. I will have to consider it. I like the hope that it implies, that we will come out on another side, and we will take away something meaningful from it.
I actually haven’t been drinking much at all during the pandemic, other than water, kombucha, tea, grape and orange juice, because I’ve been sick almost constantly from March 5 – I believe it is allergies, and I seem to be turning the corner just now, though I’m not back to normal yet. I’ll be getting together tomorrow (Easter) with the whole family by Zoom, so I’m sure I’ll have some wine then. Sláinte to you, Robin. I’m feeling peaceful seeing scenes from your walks on Instagram. By the way, I made the Cauliflower kuku, and both Mike and I loved it! Thanks for that inspiration. Keep safe and Happy Easter. 🙂
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