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Family
My family and my friends are:
Republican, Democrat, and Independent
Fat and Thin
Straight and Gay,
White, Black, Brown, and Olive
Funny and Serious
Female, Male, and Trans
Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Pagan, Universalist, and everything else between
Country and City
Young and Old
Short and Tall
Introverts and Extroverts
From North America, South America, Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe
I love you all and to the best of my ability —
I’ve got your back … and your neck.
My blog post is late because my computer does not work without the charging cord. My husband and I had an opportunity this past weekend to see our granddaughter, Jubilee. It had been ten weeks since I’d seen her and more than that for my husband. We packed, and then we were off! Yay, on our way to see Jubilee (and Genette and Abe too, but you know how it is when you have a grandchild).
When we arrived at their home we unpacked the car and got settled in, then spent time with Jubilee, Genette and Abe. I brought my computer along with me so I could get some work done while our sweet little one was sleeping. I knew I had a blog to write so that would be the first thing to do. Jubilee went to sleep and I grabbed my computer. I opened it up and the popup said I was low on power. No problem, I’ll just grab my charging cord and plug it in.
(Warning: Run-On-Grammatically-Incorrect-Sentence Ahead!) I pulled out everything I had in the ‘cord pocket’ of my computer bag and it wasn’t there — I must have put it in the same section as my computer — nope, not there; in with my notebooks maybe? Not there; back to the cord pocket: nope, computer section: still no, notebooks… Really Lona? You already checked that too…hmmm, suitcase: not there… pause with hands on hips and think… must be in the bag with your tatting, journal, and book… nope, but I found a hair tie! Food bag…that was empty… where is that thing?!
Then the baby whimpers, the computer goes back in the bag and this Grandmother plays with her Grandbaby.
So ends the search for the computer charging cord. Steven and I got home a couple of days later and guess what? The cord was still plugged into the wall near my desk. So, the blog post is late because I left the charging cord at home…
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Besides, seriously, who could resist this little one?
It was different this year. Originally, the day was to be different because this would be the first time I would celebrate in Virginia with my daughter Genette and her daughter Jubilee. I was thrilled!! I am Grandmommie!! Jubilee was to be dedicated in church on Mother’s Day, but this virus thing called Covid-19 kept us all in our own homes. Mother’s Day was different but certainly not what was planned or expected. Genette, Jubilee, and I all visited on Facetime on Saturday. It was a sweet visit; my granddaughter is getting so big so fast! It is hard to watch that happen on a screen, because I want to be there. Still, she is happy, strong, and healthy.
My youngest daughter Carmen called, and we had a long conversation on the phone, just the two of us. She is here in the city of Charlotte, but she is staying 6ft away. We decided on the phone that she could come over one day and we’ll have coffee in the front yard. We can certainly see each other even though we are at a distance.
Steven and I zoomed with the whole family, so we got to see all of our children, along with my sister’s family. It is good to be connected, although we are all in different states (and some on different coasts). It was during the zoom meeting that I also got to see my son Bryon and his wife Amber.
Being a mom does not stop when your children grow up. It is still necessary to make decisions to protect them and your grandchildren. Usually, we connect helping with ‘going,’ but this year, helping is related to ‘staying away.’ Next year we will undoubtedly have some stories to tell about this time of our lives. For now, we have to live it.
To all of my children, bonus kids, and granddaughter: I love you all so very much. I miss you. I look forward to being near you. Give one another hugs for me. See you soon… probably on a screen.
Sincerely and with all my love,
Mom
Once a year in April, I blog about Sjogren's Syndrome (it's SS awareness month). I fight the battle against Sjogren's every day of my life. Sjogren's Syndrome is a systemic disease that causes extreme dryness; basically my moisture glands don't work properly. The dryness starts with the top of the head and goes all the way to my toenails. It is an autoimmune disease, and those who have it are one of the groups that are in the high-risk zone for complications from COVID-19. Sjogren's patients need to do all of the same things that everybody else needs to do to keep themselves well; they just need to be more diligent.
I realize wearing a mask, gloves, and sneezing into your elbow can be annoying, but I personally want to thank all of you who are taking extra precautions not to spread the virus. It is essential that we not only consider ourselves during this pandemic but also consider the health and lives of those around us.
My daughter came over to the house the other day; we visited outside in the front yard. We both wore masks, and she stayed more than 6 ft away from me. "I want to make sure you are safe, Mom. As far as I know, I don't have it, but you never know." She said. I work very hard to keep myself healthy; I know what a respiratory illness can do to me.
I've heard many times, "You don't look like you have anything wrong with you. I would have never known." This just goes to show, you should never judge a book by its cover. The person you walk next to could be fighting a battle every day, too, and if you knew their story, you might understand what it means to them when you are a little extra cautious.
Stay safe, be well.
https://www.cdc.gov/
Pandemic. Movies have been made about this possibility and now we are living through one. I truly understand the need to stay at a distance from others to lessen the possibility of sharing the germs, but staying inside 24 hours a day is not a good plan for some of our brains (and I have one of those brains). I'm not going to cite any studies or trials on this; rather I'll share a little bit about what happens to me.
I am what I call "a part-time introvert". That part of me actually has no problem with staying inside and away from people. However, the more I stay inside, the more I want to stay inside. The more I stay away from people, the more I want to stay away from people. Then I feel my brain change – I can go from living life to simply existing, and that is where the anxiety waits for me. Therefore, I also need connection. Yes, Facebook and the computer keep us "connected" but for me, I need a real voice, a back-and-forth of conversation, an exchange of ideas and thoughts. I need adventure, no matter how simple. My brain needs to stay active and open. Four walls close me in and the more I stay in those walls the more I fold into myself.
Of course, there are a lot of things you can do inside: TV, reading, cleaning, sewing… the list goes on, but I need to walk out the door, out of my house and experience a tree, smell a flower, dig in the earth, and listen to the birds. I was able to spend a couple of days with my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter this week. The weather was nice so we all got out for a walk. We all needed that to clear our brains and connect with the earth.
Everyone stay well, keep your distance, and look for an adventure. Though separate, we are all in this together.
Here are some pictures I took on our walk:
