Like many of us, this COVID-19 thing seemed overblown and like this far away thing to me at first. Then out of the blue, it felt like being hit by a freight train and the world slammed on it’s breaks and came to a screeching halt.

The aftereffect is akin to mental and emotional whiplash. What just happened? Mere weeks ago, the economy was reported to be strong with the lowest employment rate in over fifty years and as I write this, the reported number of people who applied for unemployment last week was 6.6 million. WTF.

So, we’re all reeling. I’m reeling, you’re reeling, and we all separate but totally together. For some it’s a race to see who can be the most productive, whereas others can barely get off the couch and maybe like me, we just vacillate between the two extremes. What has been keeping me grounded these past few weeks is paying attention and looking for glimpses of good. Not looking for everything to be okay or make sense. Rather, looking for the good that was already there in the mundane daily urgencies of our lives.

Now there’s this new thing. This: “what should I make for dinner with what I already have in the kitchen because I can’t go back to the grocery store” thing.

Some of the moments have bought me so much joy and lightness. Board games, comfort baking (I’m really into crust right now), and super long walks around my neighborhood. It’s not lost on me that these things were all previously available – but there is a sweetness and a lack of hurry in it now - it’s laying the groundwork for something. I so am curious what can be built on this stripped down/decluttered lifestyle and long to hold on to the “enoughness” that it’s teaching me.