*Waving from an appropriate distance*

Hi everyone! How are you? How is everyone you know, and those you care about most?

Since Mary posted at the end of February about the effects on mothers of the string of closures we were seeing, things have obviously got a lot more extreme. Here in Australia we had just got through the worst bushfire season of all time, before we were driven indoors once again. This year has really turned into a game of choose-your-apocalypse.

As we are all participating in various degrees of physical distancing/isolation/lockdown/ quarantine, we are also experiencing tilts one way or the other on having not enough/too much work and lots more/vanishingly little spare time. We are all examining much more closely our time, our space and our companionship. We are all learning a lot very fast. Some of this is sourdough starters and egg carton seedlings, some is making do with less in any of myriad ways, and some of it is straight up a new kind of fear. We are seeing some whole fields of work vanish, and if they come back it is likely they will need to take an entirely new form.

We have no idea what the exit to the tunnel will look like, or when we will get there, and when we do it won’t be one step and out into the light. There will be no Armistice Day for this event. No signing of a treaty, after which which can pour into the streets and dance. No marking moment when we know our loved ones are safe and coming home. More likely we will figure out incremental additions to our acceptable level of risk, and be offered a growing sequence of commonplace blessings.

It makes me miss the high days of blogging, when we would write lengthy, thoughtful responses to prompts, and connect in that way with people who could be anywhere.

So what is happening to you?

Cartoon by Jess Harwood: https://www.jessharwoodart.com/

Categories: Miscellaneous