I
concluded my last post with “Spring is coming. And, February will soon end.”
Oy, I had no idea what March would bring so let’s hope that “March comes in
like a lion, goes out like a lamb” applies to more than weather.
This
week hasn’t felt like a week, certainly not a normal week. The days are swirled
with uncertainty and a bit of fear. Camus writes, "The one way of making people
hang together is to give 'em a spell of the plague." Here I am reaching out. I hope you’re all doing okay.
In
many ways, I’ve always been somewhat prepared for social isolation. I’m not
being funny or silly about it either. My fella and I are introverts; he’s been teleworking
from home over the last six months. He struggles with depression and anxiety
but working from home has actually helped him. I’ve always enjoyed my own company and I cannot recall the last
time that I was bored. I lived outside of Boston for over a year and was terribly isolated. It wasn't so much people I missed but place... home. We’re all wired a bit
differently.
Being quickly moved from face-to-face teaching at my university
to remote teaching has been hectic. I’ve been a certified online instructor for
several years. I haven’t always loved teaching online but I’ve been planning to
teach online again this summer. Now
everything changes and next week, I’ll have three classes that were in-person last week transition
to virtual. For my students to remain somewhat calm, I must remain calm. 
What
calms me is my garden. This week, this new-to-us home and new-to-us land where we've been for a year and a half
finally feels like a real garden. The Gothic shed that I previously wrote about was completed and I think it is perfect. I added my
pumpkin yard art and other yard art along with some gardening supplies into the
shed. That was the point all along to have a place to store my seasonal yard art and plant supplies. Really, it’s just an expensive, yet functional, garden sculpture.
Adding some old friends (flowering Quince and Scotch broom) that I used to have in my old garden and some new
friends (a forsythia bush) finally gave it the feel of a secret garden. I added
the whirligigs into the copse as a secret forest wind garden (not pictured). Now, I just get
to keep filling in for the rest of my life🖤
More
hectic times are ahead of us. I hope you find a way
to reach out and I hope you find ways where others are reaching you. May you and your loved ones stay healthy, and may you and your loved ones be a source of comfort and peace.
