Every time I turn on the TV or look at the news, everything is all about COVID19 or Politics. Yes we are in a pandemic… Yes… the politicians want to beat each other up on their actions to gain an edge in the next election… It’s all we see anymore, it seems.
Well, then I take a walk and my mind wanders.
COVID19 has created a less personal world. We are scared to hug, scared to help, scared to leave the house, and scared to express our opinions for fear of getting censored or sent to “Facebook Jail” , so it seems. COVID has torn our world apart… sometimes it seems there’s nothing we can do about it. But we can!
Whether I walk during my lunch hour through a busy industrial park, or through the woods in my backyard, or down a country road, my mind wanders to how life used to be before COVID. It helps my sanity… I remember how good it felt to hug a perfect stranger (with permission, of course!) who just looked like they needed a hug, or meeting friends for an evening dinner at a favorite restaurant (without having to mask up or sit far apart), and laughing so hard with my best friends that my belly hurt the next day! I can’t wait for this normalcy, so in the meantime, I do what I can do to feel good.
My heart breaks when I talk to people who have lost loved ones to COVID… I lost my dearest friend from COVID, and her family remains devastated, as do I in my own way. But I can also hear her voice in my head saying “I live vicariously through you!” That’s just something she used to tell me when I would buy a cool car, or take a vacation somewhere warm…” So, this voice in my head makes me get up each morning in search of something good in every day, even if its just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on yummy soft white bread! Simple stuff… that’s the best.
This week is a festival in my hometown. I’m going to the Beverage tent for cocktails, and fellowship with my hometown friends (and anyone else who shows up)… I’m going to hug the heck out of everyone who will let me hug them! Cheers!
Living Vicariously... through Traveling! 