So how is everyone today?
Yesterday was my 69th birthday and I think it was the best birthday I’ve had in years. Texts and phone calls started coming in at around 8, many from people with whom I haven’t been in contact for years. All of my nieces and nephews phoned, emailed, or texted. Both of my brothers reached out. My therapist, who lives one town away, drove over and we walked in the hills with my dog for my session. I imagine everyone who has a birthday during this time of social quarantine will have a similar experience. The need to reach out and touch is so strong right now.
I suppose, given how people-packed my day was yesterday, I shouldn’t be surprised that I feel a bit of a letdown today. Published my daily tips of the day for the town’s senior community by 8 am. Straightened up the house a little, walked the dog, did a free 10-minute Peloton series of sun salutations. Texted back and forth with some friends. Tried to nap but three cups of coffee made that impossible.
It’s almost noon and the sun is finally starting to break through the overcast skies. My food delivery isn’t scheduled until late this afternoon and right now my grocery supply doesn’t include anything enticing. Mostly Amy’s soups and frozen foods, refried beans and rice. One large yam. I consider myself fortunate that I have food, however. And I’m so grateful that I invested in one of those Soda Streams years ago. There’s something so exotic these days about having sparkling water.
My gardener friend came by around 1 to check on how my plants are doing and chat a little in the back yard. Then I spent over an hour finally fixing my Dyson vacuum. Another half-hour vacuuming the house. Still two and a half hours til I’m on call for my shift here this evening. I have two books I’m struggling to read on my Kindle and a final paper due tomorrow in my Creative Nonfiction class — I’m saving that for something to engage in a demain. So I’m thinking I’ll take a shower since I’m all over dust from the vacuum mess, settle down with my Kindle and wait for you guys to show up at 5:30. Catch you then.
Here is a sampling of things to do, watch or read to pass the time.
Teens Launch Hotline for Isolated Seniors to Listen to Pre-Recorded Jokes, Stories, and Messages of Hope
As a means of entertaining lonely adults during the novel coronavirus outbreaks, a team of Canadian high schoolers created a hotline that plays pre-recorded messages of positivity.
The Joy4All project was launched by students from the Ever Active Schools recreational leadership program run by the Calgary Board of Education.
The youngsters say they created the free hotline as a means of comforting quarantined seniors across North America. However, people of all ages are encouraged to dial 1-877-JOY-4ALL in order to enjoy the regularly updated selection of jokes, stories, guided meditations, and educational messages.
MoMA Is Offering Free Online Art Courses You Can Take at Home
It might be a while before New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) reopens its doors to the public, but the recently renovated contemporary museum still wants to inspire art lovers during quarantine. In addition to a virtual museum tour that gives access to collection highlights—ranging from 19th-century paintings by Vincent van Gogh to Jenny Holzer’s modern LED art—MoMA is offering a series of free online art courses for at-home audiences amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Into the Chrysalis
Chrysalises both inspire and baffle me. The thought that a caterpillar can crawl into a sac made of its own body and dissolve its form and come out as a butterfly is a cliched image of transformation, but holy crap. Stop for a moment and really think about that. Does the caterpillar know this is going to happen? If it does that shows some tremendous trust. If it doesn't, then that shows some incredible courage. It just hangs out there, isolating itself from the rest of the world and changing in ways it can never understand.
Does a caterpillar see a butterfly and go "that will be me one day?"
24 Pictures That Prove Dogs Are The Perfect Weirdos We Need Right Now
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