| March: Before and after | 4/18/2020 Thought Archive |
| Come along with me, won’t you, as I look back upon the month of March. Before (and after) we all became too familiar with a new five-letter word…
March got off to a carefree start with our revolving Bunko session, this time at Marian’s lovely home. I always look forward to this monthly date with the gals. My great group of friends makes it the ideal “platform” for sharing news…and big laughs. Believe me, it can be a challenge to keep an eye on your game! The following evening, Ed and I met new friends, Ben and Katharine, at the fabulous Marble Room for dinner. We had a delightful evening getting to know this lovely couple, while enjoying a most delightful meal in absolutely stunning surroundings! A couple of days later, Ed and I got together with Craig, Barb, Vanessa and Harold for dinner, to try out a new seafood restaurant, Bleu. We always have such fun with these very good friends. The following Monday, I reported to Jury Duty. Some may remember that this was where I met my attorney husband, over 30 years ago (it’s a family legend), I on jury duty and he pleading his case. I had not been called since then, and yet here I was, called to a personal injury case on my first day. But after the voir dire, I was removed! I think we can safely say it was all due to whom I was married: The attorneys did not look well on my personal connection to another lawyer, which they judged could affect my impartiality. Oh well. That evening, Ed and I met our friends, Susan and Frank, for dinner at Lockkeeper’s. We hadn’t been out with them in a long time, and it was a great evening, sharing a wonderful dinner and high spirits in their always lively company. At the end of the week, we met friends, Mike and Allison, for another fabulous meal and wonderful conversation at the Marble Room. Little did we know that this would be our last night out for a while... Within a week, due to the worldwide spread of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, issued a stay-at-home order, closing all restaurants, except for take-out or pickup, bars, gyms, hair salons, movie theaters and small businesses. He also levied restrictions on any gathering place that would hold more than ten people and enforced physical social distancing of six feet. And so it was that we learned the new five-letter word, Covid-19… and began to experience life under the auspices of The New Normal. As difficult as it is to be confined at home, Covid-19 is forcing us to reflect on the positive things: togetherness, maybe a renewed interest in cooking our own healthy meals...or genealogy? And we're breathing better thanks to the inactivity of automobiles and airplanes. But my heart goes out to the elderly in nursing homes, where no visitors have been allowed for weeks. Had my dear mother still been alive at this time, I don’t know how she would have dealt with not being able to see us or to receive the much-needed daily assistance that my sister and I brought her these past few years. Especially in the last months of 2019, when she couldn’t even pick up the phone without our help. Like all families in this situation today, we would have been terribly worried and so, so sad not to be able to brighten her day... . I also hold in my heart those on the front lines: nurses (both my cousin and niece are brave nurses), doctors, hospital workers, grocery store employees...And those who are unable to bring in an income due to the hold on their line of work. I pray for them every day. Zoom, an online multi-videoconferencing system was introduced to me by my nephew in Denver. My son in LA, had also used it, through his work. This interactive service has been bringing our widely-dispersed family together since the shutdown, enabling us to see and converse with all twenty-odd of us at the same “meeting”. We agree to a time, and look forward to catching up for at least an hour each week. We’ve even been able to monitor our little grandson “bump” each week and visit our son and daughter in law’s future home, the week they got the keys! It’s one of the best things to come out of this global situation. As you may have noticed, since March 17th, I have been posting short songs and messages to social media, through my music page, on Facebook and Instagram. The response has been so heartwarming that I feel encouraged to continue to give a little of myself to make others feel good, better...great?) It depends on the day! In closing, may we all be well…and stay that way! |
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