Ummm....

Seriously could not come up with a clever title for this one. I am at a loss for words, well not entirely, I guess if I am writing a blog.

The world just got really weird and I feel dumbfounded, numb, incredulous, slightly wary, somewhat belligerent, purposefully optimistic, a bit pumped, but definitely not panicked.

No - I will not succumb to the mass hysteria that could easily make a difficult situation worse!

As with so many other people on this planet, I find myself without a J.O.B. for the foreseeable future.

I am fortunate enough to work in a unique situation where I live on property in staff accommodation and my employer is also my landlord. There's no having to explain to them why I may struggle with my rent at some point and they've already advised to all staff that they will be working with us so that no-one has to worry about whether they have to pay rent or even what they may have to eat. Free meals will be served in our staff cafeteria for those that are in need. If that wasn't already amazing, our townsfolk have banded together to provide meals to those that may need it as well.

There is some comfort in the fact that we are ALL in this together - the whole planet!  Everyone has some level of responsibilities - car payments, mortgage, cell phone, internet, electricity, gas, water, cable, insurance, loans, investments - and may eventually face some difficulty.  When it's an isolated case, companies are less compassionate and by the books, but when it is happening en masse, there's no choice but for them to work with us to defer payments, reduce interest or more to keep our world running.  Kudos to the ones that are going above and beyond!

It can be tempting to sit around lamenting at the misfortune of temporarily being out of work and asked to maintain social distancing, but if everyone chooses to comply, the virus will be stopped sooner. The longer it goes, the longer we are held hostage by it.

I trust that our medical community and scientists will successfully find the vaccine to bring our world to a new normal, because, let's face it - things will never be the "normal" that they once were. We've lost a little bit more of our innocence as a human race and will face life with a very different perspective moving forward.

In the meantime, I am going to make the best of the situation. I will connect with the people I love. I will transfer my old home movies to digital from mini-VHS tapes. I will plant seeds for my garden. I will take some online courses - there are lots more to choose from right now! I will write, blog, craft, exercise, hike - immerse myself in the things that I love to do and prepare for when things do start to turn around again.

What will you choose to do with the gift of time?