I've ordered a velcro-backed patch that shows flames coming out of a dumpster labeled "2020." The husband, older son, and I were waxing philosophically about what else could go wrong this year. Pandemic, massive demonstrations, plague of locusts (yes, there was one), what could come next. The Yellowstone volcano, one of us suggested. Several days later, I found an article noting increased seismic activity in that area. Bad news? Is the good news that it would be an extinction-level event after which nothing would matter?
I don't think this is the year anybody hoped for or would have predicted. One person might have forecast that there would be a pandemic of some nature. Another might have predicted that black lives might finally matter. Most people probably would have predicted some form of white-on-black violence or police-on-black violence. I'd bet nobody would have predicted two full months - March and April - with no school shootings. Is the world, as a planet not all the people, in a triple biorhythm low? I mean, really!
All that said, there is something of a good side to 2020 so far, at least in some small part. For many, staying at - and working from - home have helped us slow down a bit. We may still have to log on to a computer and start working at 8:00 am local time, but we don't have to fight traffic or weather or the parking gods to get to an office by 7:50 to start work there at 8:00. Small kids at home may be a distraction, but we might see a new side of them, something we don't see when they - and us - are tired in the evening. We can't go to the gym, but we can take a walk in the neighborhood or on a community trail. The outdoors for the most part smells much better than a gym or locker room. Without the driving to and from work or the gym, we might have some extra time in our day, time we can spend reading, hobbying, or in quality time with spouse and/or kids. In all those ways, maybe 2020 hasn't been all bad after all. On the other hand, in oh so many ways 2020 has sucked royally; I gotta be honest.
2 comments:
Yes, things could be worse, but for now they!re just bad. We'll muddle throigh.
The outdoors for the most part smells much better than a gym or locker room.
Agreed! Unless you're allergic to whatever happens to be blooming, or there's a smoker nearby. My favorite used to be the pine/hemlock forests in the Adirondacks.
My eldest son has a Twitch stream, to which I subscribe, and while quilting or sewing I like to have him on in the background (he and his buds play Rock Band, so sometimes [rarely] there's something I can sing along to while I'm working).
Anyway, yesterday during a break in playing he asked, "Five years ago, would you ever have imagined you'd be listening to this kind of music and enjoying it?" I blithely answered, "You're assuming I'm enjoying it", but what I really should've answered was, "Five years ago, I couldn't have imagined ANYTHING about my life as it is today!"
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