I haven’t written anything here in over a month. I feel like this is not the time to promote products I love because so many are struggling financially. I’m not going anywhere post-worthy because I’ve been “hunkering down” as sweet, Leslie Jordan has been calling it.

Seriously y’all – if you haven’t been following him on Instagram during this he has kind of become a beacon of light and love. What a sweet, funny, and adorable man.

My brother has a podcast and of course, COVID-19 has been a topic of late and one of the things he said was he doesn’t like that people are calling this “The New Normal.” He wants things back to the way they were before Coronavirus took over everyone’s lives. I appreciate that, I really do. I just don’t think that I feel the same.

In Texas, the population seems to be so fiercely divided on how to move forward into “the new normal.” It feels like a deeper chasm of the fundamental difference of opinion on the Trump presidency and it’s not getting any better.

In Texas, the Governor has given the green light for some businesses to reopen under certain restrictions (https://gov.texas.gov/organization/opentexas).

Yesterday, I left the house to pick up some meds for my dog and while I was driving over to the vet and I noticed some places open again. One restaurant I passed, which I have been a customer of, was definitely not following the minimum standard health protocols released. I didn’t go inside but I could tell by the completely packed parking lot that they were more than 25% of their occupancy.

While on the other side of the coin….not an hour after noticing the restaurant, I talk to a friend of mine. A couple I know of through her are sharing the virus between one another. His ex-Mother-in-Law has been on a ventilator for 13 days with the virus and the couple has struggling to fight the virus. He was in the ER again yesterday and finally hospitalized.

i’ve stopped watching virtually all news. Every morning I go to the New York Times Coronavirus Daily Tracker (https://nyti.ms/2UcjlBD) and I look at the curves: globally, nationwide, and in Texas and Hawaii (where my daughter is). The death toll in Texas is still going up. I don’t feel it’s safe to go back to pre-COVID. I’m wearing a mask any time I go into a public place and while I deliver Meals on Wheels weekly. I carry hand sanitizer in my car and use it every time I make a trip inside a public place. I’ve not seen my friends in two months and I’ve not ventured out to hike since the state parks were reopened. I was really sick in 2019 and developed asthma as a result of those sickness. I consider myself higher risk than the average healthy person and my older parents live with me. I’m being conservative in my choices.

While on the other side of the coin…I’ve seen people posting this “Plandemic” movie on Facebook. It’s been removed multiple times from YouTube because it violates their policy on “COVID-19 misinformation.” Here is a link to an NPR article that sites the movies claims and fact checks them (https://www.npr.org/2020/05/08/852451652/seen-plandemic-we-take-a-close-look-at-the-viral-conspiracy-video-s-claims).

This morning, someone I follow on Instagram posted this.

The most important spiritual growth doesn't happen when you're meditating or on a yoga mat.
It happens in the midst of conflict – when you're frustrated, angry, or scared and you're doing the same old thing and then suddenly – you realize that you have a choice to do it differently.

It resonated so loud with me. It’s what made me sit down and write this post. This is what’s coming out of this pandemic for me so far! Suddenly, I realized that this pandemic has given me the perfect opportunity to separate from any person, place, or thing that is not a positive force in my life.

I’ve been working, limiting my social media – especially Facebook – finding creative outlets for myself like doing those adult coloring books and trying complex paint by numbers kits. I’m working on minor home projects that don’t require me to go out and mill about stores. (I’ve been to the home improvement store once but with a list and was in and out in 15 minutes!)

I’ve gone back to journaling and I’m focused on achieving a list of small daily goals: