Enjoying What We DO Have

I don't know about you ladies, but this Coronavirus has put quite a damper on my April time. For me, she has always been a release, but she has also been a way to express myself out in public. That option has been taken away from me for months by this virus, and I miss it. I really do. I don't get the same satisfaction at home as I do when I am out and about – even just wandering the malls and buying nothing. I want to be seen – to tell the world that I am here and I am me and I won't let anyone stop me from being the person I am – all the wonderful, joyous, and even the not so wonderful aspects of myself on display.

I know most of you have been afraid to be who you are at times. I was too, but when I finally got over that hurdle a whole new world opened to me; now that world has been placed on temporary hold. I miss it. I miss getting together with my girlfriends and going out to a show or to shop or just to get a drink. I know this temporary isolation will eventually end, but I also know that I need human contact, and I especially need the company of my friends; I call so many of you my friends. The internet is wonderful, but it is not really a substitute for personal contact.

So far I have cancelled three vacations this year – two CD/TG conferences and just now, I had to cancel a visit from a friend due to a resurgence of the virus.

Well… I have concluded that this virus is going to be around for awhile. I am going to find ways to express myself, even if it is behind a mask. I will use the time I'd set aside for my friend's visit to explore Seattle. There is so much of the city that I don't know, and I have lived here for almost 30 years. I'm going to check out the city to see and be seen. It is summer after all, so I will find a lovely spot or two outside to have a bite, get a drink, or just enjoy the sun and the scenery. There is still much to appreciate and be thankful for.

I am lucky to live near Seattle, a city that appreciates diversity and whose residents treat me with respect and kindness. I have a loving family that is relatively accepting, and my youngest daughter fully embraces me. My employer and fellow employees are accepting or at least tolerant, and I have never heard anything derogatory. At 62, I no longer worry about needing to find that “next job,” and I am free to express myself...within the limitations of this virus of course.

…And if this is the “new normal” (temporarily I hope,) I will adjust. I just know that there is still a lot that I CAN do – so I'm going to focus on doing what I can, and making sure that April is out there.

Be safe everyone, but don't stop living.

Hugs, April