The Beginning

I am not a writer. Let’s get that out there right now. I am an older woman retired from the working world, with a home, a grown family, no spouse but instead a fecund mind, an overly-productive creature that dwells in her head. I’m not saying it’s an intelligent mind, although I know it’s rather bright. On the intellectual spectrum it is somewhere within normal. But it is active. I can usually keep it entertained. It’s like an urban animal for whom exercise involves getting out and about, seeing sights and interacting a lot with people and places. Since Monday these delights have all but disappeared, and the creature has gotten restless in its confinement, looking for diversions, distractions, the usual ‘busyness’. The pent-up energy has turned creative. At least, I hope that’s what it is. My brain needs exercise. It doesn’t have enough going on. Thoughts are multiplying. A lockdown narrative is beginning to run, the minutiae of my ‘recommended’ homestay are being catalogued and running storylines. Simply put: I need an outlet for what is going on in my head. The governor has asked us to stay in our homes, not go out, not attend social gatherings and to avoid contact with others. Shelter in place is the term many use. I have never experienced a time like this. And I have logged many years on this earth. The Coronavirus is the scariest thing we have experienced in any place where I have lived. I have never lived in a war torn country. I have never experienced a mandatory order to stay where I am. My age group is particularly vulnerable. It seems we lose our ability to fight off illnesses, particularly viruses, after we hit sixty. For government officials to tell us to shut ourselves in our homes, it is serious business. I am in but it is tough. The social introvert in me enjoys this, my brain doesn’t. Sheltering in place feels delightful at times; at times it feels like I’m on lockdown or under house arrest. Here I hope to primarily explore the upside of this situation in which we all find ourselves as a way of feeding our minds. I invite you to chime in, add whatever you feel is meaningful and adds to the conversation. What are you working on? What soothes your mind and/or soul? Are you doing projects? Reading? Binge watching? Homeschooling? I know we are fortunate. Please don’t get me wrong: I know I have a good life and I am grateful. My world is rich regardless of these altered circumstances. If you are a troller or ‘flamer’, please don’t hit and run. I welcome your comments as long as they are substantive, as long as you write your remarks and back them up with reasons. I hope to engage in meaningful, humorous, educational and uplifting conversations with you.