19 August 2020.
It is 51° F as I head out to place one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes. Time as I start today’s morning walk is 7:35 AM. The noted temperature, falls just a skootch this side of brisk. 51° F is a reminder that summer does not last forever here in here in Michigan.
In two months’ time, pandemic or not, most of life will have moved indoors in Big Gretch’s state. To quote our governor, “It’s shark week motherf****r”. The social distancing space that patios and decks have provided me and thousands of others, will soon be closed up and gone for the year. People crowded indoors and poorly circulated indoor air will soon be upon us.Come October I will no longer be a trustee on the pandemic work farm. I will no longer be allowed to walk around free to whatever place my feet might carry me. Right now, my only limitation in my journeys is to not engage with others in a space of less than six feet. When winter’s first icy tendrils find their way here, having people over for a socially distanced get together on the deck will be ended.
We only had a short period this year when cool weather combined with the coronavirus to keep us really imprisoned. Coming into a full-on Michigan winter, with its ice, snow and subzero temperatures, there will be more isolation, more loneliness, more trepidation and more depression. Without a vaccine, this winter will be hard. Still, I have chosen not to place worrying about the coming winter high on my priorities. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it.
Instead of worrying about the future during these last weeks of summer, I will prioritize the joy from walking out in the golden hours of the day. I will prioritize doing those things that need to be done before the snow flies. This year my leaves will get raked up and take him to the curb. This year I will make sure that my roof is clear of debris. I will pull out the dead annuals before they are buried beneath 6 inches of snow. This year I will order my firewood early.
The pandemic has brought change; change I did not want. However, some of the changes are positive. There are many things I have learned that I do not need and can live without is the result of the pandemic. There are many wasteful habits that have been broken because of the pandemic. When the vaccine comes the world will be very, very different.
Come the vaccine most of the restaurants I used to eat that will be closed for good. There closures will have very significant economic impacts on those who own, work in and tax these restaurants. However, for me eating out is no longer a necessity, and for the most part not even a luxury I would choose. Stores on the fringes of life those that sell bangles and buttons and use books, they will all be gone too. I really won’t know which of those places I will miss until I am free to roam without limitation. However, I am sure many of them in their disappearance will cause me no harm.
By the time the harsh winds of November fall upon us we will be living in a much-changed world. Whether that world is better than the one we left in the winter of 2020 will ultimately depend on us. Let’s hope that we draw good knowledge and positive motivation from what we have experienced as we go forward.
The pandemic has brought change; change I did not want. However, some of the changes are positive. There are many things I have learned that I do not need and can live without is the result of the pandemic. There are many wasteful habits that have been broken because of the pandemic. When the vaccine comes the world will be very, very different.
Come the vaccine most of the restaurants I used to eat that will be closed for good. There closures will have very significant economic impacts on those who own, work in and tax these restaurants. However, for me eating out is no longer a necessity, and for the most part not even a luxury I would choose. Stores on the fringes of life those that sell bangles and buttons and use books, they will all be gone too. I really won’t know which of those places I will miss until I am free to roam without limitation. However, I am sure many of them in their disappearance will cause me no harm.
By the time the harsh winds of November fall upon us we will be living in a much-changed world. Whether that world is better than the one we left in the winter of 2020 will ultimately depend on us. Let’s hope that we draw good knowledge and positive motivation from what we have experienced as we go forward.
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