Tuesday, March 17, 2020

... the bell of transience...


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.
 
 

5 comments:

  1. Ooh, the shed looks fabulous! :D
    Good luck with the transition to online classes.

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  2. The shed is looking utterly magnificent!!!

    I can very much relate to a lot of what you said and how this impating you two. I'm a massive introvert (my husband is an ambivert), we both work from home most of the time, and I'm frequently home for stretches of weeks or months at a time due to being a multi-chronic illness warrior, so some aspects of our lives are little changed.

    Of course, others are being impacted and we're not without our worries, of course. In an effort to hopefully stay as healthy as possible, even though Canada is not officially in lockdown yet, we have voluntarily placed ourselves in it this week and will continue to remain as such (going out, only if strictly needed, once every few weeks for groceries - or for super urgent medical issues, of course).

    It is impossible to know at this point, how long we will remain in lockdown mode, but it's safe to say we're gearing up for the long haul.

    My husband is a native son of Italy and while, mercifully, none of his family members have contracted C-19 yet, we've been watching the situation there like a hawk and want to try and get ahead of it, if things get even a fraction that bad in this country (especially since I'm immune compromised and Tony is on the mend following two recent kidney surgeries, so chances are C-19 would have a field day with us).

    My heart goes out to the entire world. We are all in this together, uncertain in some ways, all hoping for a quick end to what has already been a truly heartbreaking start to the new year + decade.

    May you guys stay 100% safe, healthy, and as well as can realistically be turning these globally uncertain times.

    Autumn Zenith 🎃 Witchcrafted Life

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  3. Hi. I'm here. I just started blogging again, just to dump my brain and to stay connected. I'm an extrovert and this isolation is going to be completely kill me. BLAH. Sending love from a very scared NYC.

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  4. That shed is looking fantastic!

    It's so strange that most weeks I long for no contact with the outside world, but when it's enforced like this, it doesn't feel quite so nice! lol The only thing I'm really struggling with is the fact that neither of my kids are near to home anymore - that weighs heavy on my heart.

    Hope you and your fella are doing well during these strange times. 🖤

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