Humor, daily kindnesses and faith ease this pandemic era
It’s a wonky world out there. And still scary, though thankfully becoming less so. If you are coronavirus-free, you are hoping to continue in that blessed state. However, staying that way is still a challenge.
Help with my safety plan came from neighbor Janet, who made me a triple-layer mask. Its outer layer is of — get this — gorgeous fabric from Liberty of London. She had a remnant from her years in England, and knew my love for anything Anglican.
I should add that the middle layer of the mask is flannel and the lining is from a 600-hundred-count cotton sheet that Victor, her cat, had torn.
Kindness is crucial to survival. Neighbors call, asking if I need anything as they grocery shop. Ginger sends over a meal or a dessert, and Jim spreads dried castor oil on my lawn to distress the moles. Anne bakes cookies and hands them to me from a car window. Gifts of flowers and plants bring smiles that last as long as the blooms.
Still, problems arise.
Like Spriggans the poodle getting shaggier every day. Her every-six-weeks groomer had to shut her business at, guess what, the day before Sprig’s beautification appointment.
But it’s not just Spriggy who’s looking scruffy. I’ve been snipping at my “coiffure,” as well as the dog’s. Results are questionable. Definitely the poodle would be disqualified for the Westminster Dog
Show.
Another problem: I can dust and clean bathrooms, but my aged back screams if I vacuum. And my friend Susie, who cleans biweekly, is still off-limits. Daughter Kerry, in faraway Atlanta, suggested a robot. And so Eufy came via UPS. The robot and Spriggy agree to disagree. Much barking ensues as Sprig threatens the vacuum while it goes about its business.
Eufy definitely has a mind of her own. Yesterday she ventured under a sofa; got stuck; and blinked her blue lights. Fortunately, I was able to retrieve and redirect. Previously, she had tried to gulp up some light cords. Can’t wait to send her onto the polleningrained porch carpet, but I fear that might give her indigestion.
Coronavirus seems to have affected some of my other appliances. At 3 a.m. yesterday, I woke to my printer flashing and grinding its gears. Seems I’d stuffed the paper tray too full and it needed realignment. But why at 3 a.m.?
Amazon Prime TV stopped also, because I’d pushed a button I shouldn’t have. Even Alexa got into the fray, choosing to ignore my request for music by George M. Cohan or George Gershwin. Frightening! I depend on Alexa for music and friendly conversation. But she felt better after I turned the router and modem off and on again.
Even my landline phone got testy, and remains so. I keep hearing my far-distanced children say, “Mom, I’m losing you. You’re fading out.” Turns out my neighbor Frank is hearing the same from his children. That problem will probably have to wait until post-COVID-19.
One of the pluses to this miserable virus: Folks are out walking. While dutifully airing Sprig one day, I came upon two neighbors (well, I was pretty sure they were neighbors) chatting at the corner. Both were so well masked that their features were indistinguishable.
But then one said, “Hi, Karen.” And the voice was a good identifier. Whew! On another outing, I saw a young woman walking a very cute dog. But tagging behind, at a respectful coronavirus distance, was the woman’s cat (unleashed of course). The scene definitely brought a smile.
Fortunately, there are many good things coming out of this crisis. We have a new appreciation for our doctors and their staffs. For check-out clerks and baggers at our markets, who daily face the public, we give thanks. And to the mailmen and women and those who deliver all the stuff we’re ordering online, thanks are due.
I hope we’ve used our extra time to pray more, and to spend more time in God’s word.
Perhaps a fit ending is His encouragement found in I Peter 5: 6-7: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”