Pandemic Thoughts

Pandemic Thoughts

This time is very stressful,

This time is really strange,

Mixed messages come constantly,

Some people act deranged.

We can’t get paper products,

Chicken and flour’s been scarce too,

We cannot hug each other,

Oh what are we to do?

We can do Mad Libs on Facetime,

Wave to neighbors as we walk,

Play and sing music for each other,

Write or call someone to talk.

We’re all still washing hands well,

We’re staying at our homes,

Until the day, when once again,

We’ll be free to hug and roam.

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Easter In Pandemic

Although we’re distant physically,

In spirit we can be together,

We send our hugs out virtually,

Wishing in person we could gather.

This Easter Sunday is not the same,

As the ones that we all remember,

The message of Easter does remain,

As in unison we sing Hallelujah!

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Pandemic Things

Wear your face mask,

Wash your hands,

These are rules,

In the lands,

Some won’t do it,

Though most will,

Just keep in mind,

This virus kills.

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Distancing Haiku

Stay six feet away

You better put on that mask

Wash your hands again

Confused

I’m not sure what day it is,

Nor what I should do next,

Go outside, or read, or clean?

This isolation has me vexed,

Keeping safe tops the list,

Of important things to do,

So from a distance I will say,

Hello! From me to you.

               So here we are, in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and I’m finding it hard to get motivated to make good use of all this time at home.  It’s so easy to slip into the habit of getting up and moving to the couch to drink coffee, nap, play games on my phone or tablet and click the tv remote around to see what’s on while scrolling through Facebook and Instagram.  That routine, however, leads to a general lethargy, crankiness, and just over all feeling of “meh”, at least for me.  Then depression starts to rear its ugly head and there’s not really anyone to distract from it.  Even if you’re quarantined with your family, by now, about 6 weeks into this, you’re probably getting on each other’s nerves.  What can we do about that?  Well, what I have done is text with some friends and family, call some, and either Facetime or have a Zoom meeting with friends and family.  I’m so used to talking to many people in the course of a normal day, that I find I miss that the most about being out of work for an open ended period of time.  Also, I have nothing, really, to offer my family in terms of conversation without much contact with those outside of my house.  I know I need, also, the outlet of being annoyed with those I don’t live with so that my frustration has someplace to be let out besides impatience with my housemates.   Another thing I’m doing is try to keep moving at least as much every day as I would if I were working by keeping track of my daily steps with an app that came with my iPhone.  I keep it in my pocket and every step counts, so even just housework counts and I try to walk, even if it’s just doing laps in my driveway.  I feel better if I can get outside for at least a few minutes every day, and sometimes I just take a drive to get a change of scenery and listen to music.  I’ve also realized that turning off the news is very important for me.  If I happen to have time alone I’ll watch reruns of crime shows, comedies, cooking shows, or whatever I feel like.  As a family, we frequently listen to one of the music channels, and of course when Hillary is up we’re generally watching SpongeBob which is her favorite show.  Whatever it takes!   Reading is also a way I found to keep myself from worrying about what is happening and how it will affect us in the long term.  The last day that I worked I did two things before I went home—stopped at the library and took out a big stack of books, and went to the store for toilet paper because I had put the last roll at home in the bathroom that morning.  It’s a good thing I did that, because 3 days later they closed the library until further notice, and toilet paper became scarce in the stores.  Grocery shopping has become a scavenger hunt, and I try to go only every 2 weeks.  There are still many empty shelves, but it seems like it’s getting a little better at least as far as paper goods go.  These are weird times we’re living right now.  Hopefully things will get better sooner rather than later.  In the meantime, stay safe, healthy, and wash your hands.

Taking a Break

With the COVID-19 Pandemic racing across the land, most of us are now on an extended break from our regular lives.  So many of us don’t know what to do with all the time we suddenly find ourselves faced with in our homes.  In order to feel less isolated, and because I truly miss my coworkers, we are keeping in touch via a group text, as well as some individual texting and phone calls.  One of my friends/coworkers and I were talking about beautiful places we’ve been right here in our area.  This brought up memories for me of one place in particular: Swartzwood Lake.  She and her husband enjoy going there fishing, as well as a small restaurant near there.  I’ve never been to the restaurant, but I’ve been on the lake.

               Swartzwood Lake State Park is in northwest NJ, and the center piece of the park is a glacier lake which is the 3^rd largest natural lake in the state.   It’s about 3 miles long, and a mile across, and about 22 feet deep, on average, and 42 feet at its deepest.  There are a swimming beach, and trails, picnic grounds, rowboat and canoe rentals, and tent camp sites. It’s truly a beautiful place and I have fond memories of going there when I was a young adult.  I used to take my dog up there in the fall, along with a thermos of hot chocolate when I got off of work in the morning.  I worked from 10:00 pm to 6:00 pm in a donut shop when I left college after 2 semesters.  It was so peaceful in the morning, and the cool air felt refreshing after standing over a fryer full of donuts all night.  Around the same time period, my friend and I went there a few times in the summer and rented a rowboat to just row and float around the lake and while away the time.  The water was so nice and cool to dip my hands in, and the rowing was excellent exercise. Sun dappling the water through trees along the edges of the lake, and the gentle slap of the water against the boat are among my impressions and memories of those days.  After I met my husband, we used to go up in the summer with a picnic. We’d spend some time on the swimming beach, walk some of the trails, then find a picnic site with a grill and have hamburgers and potato chips.  Those were happy times, and memories I treasure.  To be young and in love, and outside in the fresh air in a beautiful setting in the summer; it doesn’t get much better than that!

               This is a stressful time for the world right now, and having nice memories to recount is one way to make it less so.  We need to take a mental break from the news and predictions of what’s to come, as well as how inhumane and selfish some people can be.  If my little blog can give you a little respite from the fear and worry, I am glad to be of service.  Stay 6 feet away from everyone, and stay well! Oh, and wash your hands………

Neighborhood Mysteries and Legends

               I think every neighborhood has its mysteries and legends, questions never answered to my satisfaction, if they are answered at all.  Currently, I wonder daily about why the house next door always has the front storm door propped open with a yellow bag of what I assume is rock salt, or some type of ice melting compound.  It has been like that for well over a year.  The owner moved out of state and put her house on the market about 18 months ago.  Her grown son stayed in the area and we occasionally saw him that winter clearing a path through the snow to the front door so that prospective buyers and realtors could have access.  He is the one who first propped the door open with the yellow bag.  I figured that he simply forgot to move it, and perhaps that’s what happened.  What is curious about that is that when the weather turned warm nobody moved it.  Then the house sold and a young family moved in.  They have been living there for about 9 months, and the bag holding the storm door open is still there.  So, all last summer, and all fall and winter the bag props the door open.  It is never closed.  They don’t seem to want to meet anyone in the neighborhood, so I don’t think I’ll be asking them about it any time soon.  Too bad!  I really want to know! Another mystery here is why the elderly woman who lives diagonally behind us put up a “no trespassing” sign facing our back yard.  It was there for about 3 years, but now the house is up for sale and we noticed the other day that the sign is gone.  So now I wonder where did it go, as well as why was it there in the first place?  We have no pets or small children that might have been running over there.  I haven’t seen the lady who lives there in a while, is she still there?  Did she move? Did she die? It’s a mystery to me.

               When I was growing up, there was an old shack on the street above ours, but at the opposite end of the block.  It looked scary, and menacing, with its overgrowth of bushes and trees and dark windows watching everyone walk by.  My brothers and I never knocked on that door on Halloween, but ran past it on the other side of the street, fear knotting my stomach.  The other kids in the neighborhood did the same.  It was known as “Steve the Hermit’s house.  I found out once I was an adult, from one of my brothers, that the man who lived there alone was a war vet and that our father occasionally spoke with him.  I have no idea if that is true, I assume so, but it was creepy at the time.  The shack has since been torn down, the lot cleared, and a nice 2 story house is in its place.  Across from the house where we lived was an elementary school.  At the back of the playground in the back of the school there was and still is, a retention pond with a chain link fence around it.  When I was a child the rumor around the school was that it was a big quick sand pit and that one time long ago a boy had ventured over the fence and been sucked into the ground, never to be seen again.  I remember trying to imagine how terrifying it must have been for that poor boy. Now I know that that story was untrue, and perhaps was perpetuated by adults hoping to keep curious children from climbing over the fence.  It was also rumored that before the school was built, a circus came to town and one of the lions died while there.  The legend is that they buried the lion there and now the school stands on top of it.  It could be true, it’s an old town where I grew up, so I believe it’s possible that could have happened.

I think every town has mysteries and legends passed around through the residents, especially among children.  I’m not sure what the mysteries and legends are in my town where I live now, but my neighborhood has mysteries for me.

Snow in February

Roaring winds bend frozen trees

Wind chimes dance along

White winter brings us to our knees

As nature sings its song

We huddle under blankets

Through the dark of night

When dawn breaks we look outside

At a sparkling frosted sight.

We sigh and take a welcome sip

Of our steaming brew

Knowing soon we'll be part of it

We've got shoveling to do.

From 2/15/15

Winter morning cold and gray,

Thus begins another day,

Rain is forecast for the eve,

If weather forecasts we believe,

We cannot change what weather comes,

We must accept it and carry on.

From 2010

Normally, these poems would be appropriate to our area in February.  This year, however, we have not had much snow, ice or freezing temperatures with roaring winds. I'm glad of that! I know that we could still get a period of typical winter weather, but as we're at the end of the month, and the sun gets stronger every day, it wouldn't last for long.  It's not that it's been very warm; most days are in the 40's, but above freezing for the most part once the sun is up.

When I was growing up we almost always had deep snow in February.  I remember being outside with my brothers sledding and building big snowmen, building snow forts and having snowball fights and making snow angels.  I don’t see many snowmen any more when we do have deep snow.  I guess kids around here aren’t spending much time outside playing in the yard, with so many ways to spend time on electronic devices.  We also used to have a week off from school in February around Presidents Day, it was called Winter Break.  Some families went to Florida on that break, and I used to envy the tans they all had when school resumed.  They had spent the week in the sunshine and warmth, while I was home playing in the snow with my brothers.  Now I’m glad when we don’t have snow, as shoveling it, and putting down ice melter so we don’t slip and fall are not as much fun. One thing I do miss is taking a walk in the snow.  I used to go out for a walk when it was snowing, with my mother when I was young, and alone once I was grown and out on my own.  There’s something peaceful in the falling snow, whitening the landscape, and falling softly on your face.  I used to stop and look up into the sky, staring until I felt like I was a snowflake floating in the air, destined to land softly on a tree branch.  Sometimes I’d like to try that again, but the softness of the couch and warmth of a cup of tea and a snuggly blanket usually beckon me more than my boots and coat do. 

Every season is different, as is every year. I’m happy this winter season has been mostly snow and ice free.  The older I get, the less I enjoy wintry weather, especially if I need to go out in it.

Thoughts on Dreary Weather, Mondays and Fridays

This weather is quite dreary,    

It’s dark, and dank, and damp,

It’s making me feel weary,

And nothing like a champ,

Sun, oh sun, where are you?

You hide yourself away,

Please come back, light up the sky,

And brighten up our days!

               We’ve had a string of cloudy, rainy, dark and chilly days this month, and it’s been extra tough to get going in the morning.  We drag ourselves out of bed, and move zombie like through the day swilling our favorite caffeinated beverage in an effort to feel alive.  My brain feels foggy during those strings of dank days and no amount of caffeine really clears it.  I try turning on all the lights in my house to trick my brain into thinking the sun is out, but it doesn’t really help.  I still just want to curl up on the couch under a blanket and snooze.  When we finally have a sunny morning it is amazing how much energy I have!  Even if it’s very cold outside, as long as the sun is shining I can get motivated to get things done.  I guess I’m solar powered.

Tomorrow is Monday for real,

I’m not really sure how to feel,

Back to routine is nice,

I’m not seeking advice,

Friday seems a much better deal.

Friday, O Friday!

At last you have dawned,

You signal an end

To a week Sunday spawned,

It felt never ending,

Each day looney and long,

But at last you are here,

Let us hail you with song!

               I think we can pretty much agree that Mondays are hard.  I know I live for the weekends lately because weekdays start early, and I must function before I’m ready to be fully awake.  On weekends I can laze on the couch with coffee and a bagel for a while before getting on with the obligations of my day.  Weekend coffee just tastes better somehow, and having some time to linger over it and daydream or read for a bit feels like Heaven.  I do find that I long for the routine of the workweek when I have too many days off in a row, but it’s those early, busy mornings that get me.  Fridays it’s easier to get going because I know that in a few hours I’ll be done with work for a couple days and can turn my attention to more pleasant pursuits. I look forward to Fridays a lot.  Too bad it’s only Wednesday.