Things I've learned during the Global Pandemic

I sat down and asked myself what I would do with this night. My choices are far more varied than they should be in the middle of a pandemic. Oh yes, that's right. Right after my last blog the world became encased in a blanket of sickness and death called COVID-19. There is no way to know who has it, no reliable treatment, no cure, and no vaccine. It attacks your lungs and is deadly. Welcome to 2020. 

As a result of said virus the world went on time out. Businesses closed, schools shuttered, meetings and service stopped, countries mandated "safer at home" and "stay home" edicts. The world literally ground to a halt as the virus ravaged place after place. Which is why I should have limited choices for entertainment on a Saturday night; in theory I should be locked up at home, alone and lonely, refining my ability to be a hermit. However, Zoom has given my life a gust of air. I can now connect virtually with my friends globally which means managing a social calendar that isn't limited by geography. My job hasn't stopped. My ministry hasn't stopped. I seem to be just, if not more, busy. 

Ergo, tonight I turned my phone on airplane mode, I made no plans, I completed all of my must do's and I sit, staring at the computer and wondering how it is that the last time I blogged was in March. 

The obvious question to be answered is how did I cope with lock down? Well- I didn't. I hit a tipping point somewhere around May- it's a funny story actually. 

The Spring had been a rainy one. In Colorado I love rain. On the East Coast it isn't as friendly. It goes on for days and days and it makes you feel like Sadness from the movie Inside Out. Blue and depressed. I was sitting in my loft on yet another cold rainy day and I thought, "If I don't leave I am going to kill myself'." Very dramatic right? But in that moment, it was a fact. I very calmly got up from my chair, grabbed my suitcase (the one I keep packed for instances just like this), walked out of my building, got in my car and started driving. West. I-95 South to the I-80 West and just kept going. 

In true Forrest Gump style when I was hungry- I stopped to eat. When I was tired- I checked into a Hotel. Because I was working virtually and the time change was in my favor, I would work in the morning and drive in the afternoon. A very long story short (I'll save that tale for another day) I drove all the way to the Pacific Ocean, to the Golden Gate Bridge to be exact. I got out of the car, touched the ocean, congratulated myself on driving literally coast to coast, got back in the car, turned around and started driving back. Then in Nevada, I  decided I was over driving and I left my car in Reno and flew home. As mentioned, I'll leave that story for another day.

Back to the lesson at hand. Tonight I blog. I have been doing so much thinking during quarantine. It helps that my kids have their own space and I moved to a new one. Change of scenery, change of perspective. What have I learned?

I have learned that I have great friends. The best kind.

I have learned that my life cycles the way I choose to make it. 

I have learned that I can be kind and still boss up. 

I have learned that sometimes in life you just need to sit still. 

I have learned that you should say thank you to people who have been impactful to you. 

I have learned how to online shop. Who knew? 

I have learned to accept kindness for kindness and love for love. 

I have learned that the calmest person in the room has the most power. They are often calm because they have the most information and ultimately will sway the decision. 

I have learned that there is power in silence. It's a frequently employed tool here. The act of kindly not responding when baited. 

I have learned not to get married on a whim, even when opportunity and boredom collide. 

I have learned that happiness lies in seeing it. 

I have learned that contentment feels calm and that calm is ok. 

I have learned that life needn't be an emotional roller coaster. 

I have learned that when I feel like I'm having a down day to call my friends. They help.

I have leaned that I don't need a lot of friends, just a handful of amazing ones. 

I have learned that if a person can't be a friend to me it's ok to say it then call it. 

I have learned that seeds of kindness you plant mature in surprising and reciprocal ways. 

I have leaned that being nice really matters. Even when you think it doesn't. Even when you feel like it's unappreciated. It does and it is.

I have learned that the best thing you can do for people that you love is support them. Cheer when they cheer and rage when they rage. Be the best cheerleader you know how to be.

I have learned that retirement is a big deal. It's a testament to to perseverance and resilience and forethought. It's a really big deal.

I have learned that parents are the real gift from God. Not the other way around. 

I have learned that dogs are better than kids and that best friends are better than boyfriends.

I have learned the kind of wife I do and don't want to be. 

I have learned that no is a complete sentence.

I have learned that God is. 

I have learned a lot. 

So while I would love to hate the Corona I find that the lessons it's taught me have changed me in ways that I am appreciative of. Would I have learned these lessons anyway? Perhaps but I spent so much time filling my time that I know that I wouldn't have learned them in a 6 month span. I finally feel like I am growing into my age.

Kindest regards,

Dewberry