“Seems strange to see the daffodils and hyacinths blooming,” I told my cousin last evening. “Everything is so normal outside. It’s just inside where everything is crazy.”
Lorelle and I were on a walk together, which is still legal in our part of Pennsylvania. We kept a safe distance. (Being a stoic Mennonite makes some things easy.)
We commiserated about libraries being shut down.
Then Lorelle told me how her plans to volunteer overseas hadn’t worked out. “Then the covonavirus happened! But I’m kind of glad I’m not stuck in Europe right now,” she concluded.
Home is definitely the place to be right now, I agreed, even if the virus is here too. When I last published a Penny Letter nine days ago, there were seventy-some cases in Pennsylvania. Today, there are 1,127 reported cases.
Most of the states surrounding Pennsylvania— New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey— have stay-at-home orders. Ten counties in Pennsylvania have similar orders.
In Lancaster County, with only twelve confirmed cases of COVID-19, we’re still free to leave the house on non-essential errands. But we can feel the screws tightening.
(For the record, I’m not criticizing any officials. They have tough jobs right now, and social distancing rules are in place for a reason.)
Many months ago, we cut out patches for a comfort top, and my niece Hannah sewed the patches together. Then Mom folded the comforter top, batting (purchased from a yard sale long ago), and the backing; put everything into a bag; and placed the bag into the garage.
This past weekend, Mom and I decided to complete the project.
“I wanted to finish this comforter for a long time,” said Mom when I helped her set up the frame Friday night. “But you were always going somewhere.”
We finished knotting by Saturday afternoon, forced to stay home by a global pandemic.
“Bet all those minimalist people wish they had stuff to do now,” said Mom.
Dad’s workplace is closed, since it’s a “non-essential” business. So he’s been fixing things around the house while Mom gets creative with food in the freezer so she won’t have to go to the grocery store as often.
I’m still going to work. It’s been complicated.
On Friday, when the governor ordered non-essential businesses to shut down, the management decided we would close until further notice. So three years to the day that I started at Good’s Store, I added a message to the home page of the website reading “Retail Stores Closed Until Further Notice,” commented out some code, changed the Google business listing, got ready to work remotely, and went home.
Then on Saturday, the CEO talked to a state official who said, “Good’s Store should definitely remain open!”
So we all went back to work on Monday.
Hand sanitizer sales continue to soar. So does… elastic sales. People are buying elastic and fabric to sew face masks.
Yesterday my co-worker who orders hand soap (and elastic, fabric, and hand sanitizer, the poor woman is very busy right now) told me, “The only liquid hand soap I can buy is Christmas soap!”
“Buy it,” I urged her. “Before another store gets it.”
So, right now, life is home, work, home, work, and washing hands.
Still, we have spring flowers blooming outside, and we talk of plans for another day.
Last evening, my cousin mentioned that she has a job option that sounds perfect for her… after the pandemic is over, of course.
We air-high-fived.
Life as we know it has changed! Whether or not it has permanently changed for most of us remains to be seen.I agree that the beauty of springtime gives a sense of normal. I agree that the beauty of springtime gives a sense of normal.🌷
The title I chose for this blog post came from a line of prose about heaven. “…I promise you a springtime like no other springtimes…” Since I can’t remember the quote in full, or who wrote it, I opted just to use it for the title (plus this was a light-hearted blog post). But it’s a beautiful way to think about heaven.
Thank you for this comforting posts including a photo that reminded me of Grandma and I knotting “comforts”!
My mother looked forward to her huge forsythia bush blooming every spring, but it had to be cut down to widen the road.
Blessings to you and your family, Susan!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
I took the picture of the forsythia brush a week or two ago, just before Dad cut it down (it was getting scraggly). Sad, but all good things have to come to an end.
Have a wonderful day, Marian!