The View From Here

Strange isn’t it?

To look out the window and see that everything still LOOKS normal.  From my home office window, I see the sunshine and blue skies.  I see birds in the tree.  I can hear them singing.  I hear a cardinal.  Sometimes a woodpecker.  Right now there are two Morning Doves sitting side by side.  It’s almost peaceful.

I feel safe in my little home office.  I feel safe from this invisible threat that is claiming so many lives around the world, and in our own community.

We’ve grown accustomed to a run down of numbers daily.

Now we have numbers in our community.  Suddenly those numbers might be people we know.

But the sun keeps shining and the birds keep singing.

It’s hard to get your brain to understand.

We’ve never lived through anything like this.  I have to say I’m not sure I’m always getting it right.  I’ve snapped at my kids.  I’ve let fear control my thoughts.  I’ve let my mind wander to the worst.  I’ve been doing so much self reflecting these last few days. I’ve reached out to people I haven’t talked to in a long time. I’ve tried to make peace with people who I’ve been holding a grudge against.

If anything good can come out of it, it’s the value of life.  It’s realizing what is really important.  It’s not stuff.  It’s people.  It’s caring about people.  It’s showing kindness.  It’s giving our time.

My heart goes out to those who have lost a loved one to this horrible virus.  There is no greater pain.

I know it feels scary and uncertain.  I also know that right now we need to be together in this.  Can we leave the online hate alone?  Can we stop lashing out at those who are working right now?  Like the cashiers at the grocery store who are scared and anxious just being there.

Kindness is what the world needs.  Kindness is also contagious.

We are on a mission right now.  A mission to save lives.  To take care of each other.  And the best way to do that is to stay home.  As much as possible.

We need to follow the precautions put in place.  As hard as it is.  As sad as it might make us feel.

My youngest daughter will be celebrating her 14th birthday and I’m not sure how to make it special for her.  She will have a cake, but not sure what else.  If she’s really lucky, I’ll master one of those Tik-Tok dances and show her my skills.  (Kidding).

We’re in this together and we will get through this together.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan