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Text & Image
How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
San Francisco Airport, my first flight since March 16, 2020, on my way to help my daughter as her fractured heel bone heals. Nervous about being around so many vaccinated and unvaccinated people, even though everyone was required to wear a mask. I was struck by the irony of these signs on the carpet in the airport, when we will all be literally rubbing shoulders with strangers on the airplane.
November 19, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
It's fall in New England and it's my favorite time of year. My child (daughter--pronouns are they, their, them) received their first vaccine shot this past week and the sense of relief I feel is enormous. These beautiful leaves makes me think of them: a vibrant person inside and out. Since they received the vaccine, I have really been thinking about them, how fast it all goes and they are only 11 1/2. They were so excited to receive the shot and there was no fear in their eyes , as there usually is with the flu shot, for example. The smile afterward was so contagious. That night when we lit the Sabbath candles and said the blessings to welcome in the Sabbath, we added another prayer called the Shehechiyanu. It means, "Blessed are you, God, who has given us life, sustained us and allowed us to arrive in this moment." The blessing is usually said when we do something for the first time that year and this seemed a completely appropriate moment to recite it. My husband, myself and our child recited it together and one could feel the meaning for us and our relief. But, I still have my 11 1/2 year old child who repeatedly says, "My friends and I are one step closer to having a sleepover!" Now there is my 11 1/2 year old child. Don't grow up too fast.
November 19, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
I did it. I ate inside a restaurant. I haven’t eaten inside a restaurant since early 2020. It was the middle of the day and I was with 2 friends who are vaxxed and there was plenty of space - the whole thing. I had a hard time taking off my mask at first. I may need a little time to do these kinds of things without worry. It’s been a long 2 years and I can’t just jump back in. Also cases are rising again so it’s not for nothing. It was really nice though. Food tastes better there then with take out. It really does. My daughter gets her 2nd shot in 2 weeks:) That might help me. But I was on public transit today and there was a guy coughing. He goes and sits like two seats from me. I moved to another train car. No way and no thanks! I noticed that people are starting to shake hands again. I kind of hoped that would just end. Never liked it and now it’s even more annoying to me.
November 22, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
After I posted my fears last week about our trip to the Grand Canyon, it hit me that I never mentioned all of the good things that happened there. In this age of pandemic, it's easy to travel down a negative spiral. I'm learning that I have to work more at finding gratitude for the things I do have. It's not quite so automatic anymore. I'm determined to do better. On this trip to the Grand Canyon, I had my first experience watching the sunrise over the canyon. We stayed the night in the park, and the sunrise was beautiful, with no crowds. How could I have so quickly overlooked this private moment of beauty and calm? Somehow, I believe our Earth will find a way to survive and right itself. With our without us. Today, I'm grateful for my time at this majestic and timeless place.
November 25, 2021
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Happy “Thanksgiving” Holiday! Poet Haley rearranged the day: Happy “Givingthanks” Holiday! I am grateful for my life: Wonderful caring husband (40 years together) Seven beautiful, healthy grandchildren Three super stepchildren & their spouses Parents & in-laws who cared in their lifetimes Our family home, safe, warm, happy Friends who always were present A cool local orchard - known to me For over sixty years from childhood My first newspaper coverage? My five year old self photographed Pinning the “apple on the tree” A bag removed from my head For the photographer to request “SMILE” !! I was famous !! My long braids tightly wooven Long ago, 1955 in this orchard. Now a new memory? My foot or more taller self Hit her head squarely into “Blue Jay Orchards” thick wood Celebrating this week With color coordinated Thanksgiving Holiday ICE PACK !! 🎶🎶🍎🍎🍎🍎🐾🐾🐾
November 25, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Today is Thursday, November 25, 2021. It is Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America. This picture is from a team-building scavenger hunt I did with my co-workers in August, 2021. We work in a combination Middle School & High School in Windsor, Connecticut. Our students come from 22 towns, mostly in Hartford County. Many of our students are from Hartford. Our school is a highly diverse group of people. This simple cardboard sign, cigarette butt and face mask remind me of the difficult times many people have experienced during this pandemic. There is also a small plant growing in the crack between the curb and the sidewalk, which reminds me of my favorite season, Spring, because many plants (and animals) begin to grow and the Earth seems to come alive after the dormancy of Winter. Being Thanksgiving, I am also reminded of the people, places and things in my life to be thankful for. I have much to be thankful for. I have my family, although we are smaller due to the pandemic, and we miss our loved ones dearly. This holiday season will be painful. I also have a work family, actually several work families from different chapters in my life. I have a church family, hobby families, volunteer families and sports teams families. My newest school family is extraordinary, and I am blessed to be a part of it.
November 26, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
9:00am Tuesday before Thanksgiving: I drove to get a nasal swab PCR test before hosting family, including my nearly 96 year old mother in law for Thanksgiving. The testing site was by appointment only, and still there was a line of cars. But it moved quickly. My husband and twenty-something kids also got tests before we all gathered for the holiday. We all got "negative" results and felt more comfortable in hugging, eating and just plain being together. It was wonderful to have a "normal" Thanksgiving after last year's holiday and all the other missed occasions. (And I've been tuning out the news of a new variant out of S. Africa.... I feel like I just can't deal with this pandemic continuing.....)
December 1, 2021
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What did you most enjoy doing this week?
Got together with friends inside without masks. Decorated gingerbread houses. Kids hung out together all day just playing video games, laughing just being together. We all went together to the town’s Xmas tree lighting. During the event which was crowded with happy people and little kids running around my husband and I talked about the new variant. I thought this post was going to just be about joy but we were looking at all of the happy faces and said to ourselves “enjoy it now.” I hope that this isn’t our “June 2021” when we felt free again and then were slammed with Delta. I have not really thought about what we have lost due to COVID. I have tried to focus more on what it has given us. Time together before my child turns into a teenager. But now see that joy - all of that together time with friends and family - has been paused.. I am still ok with that but the thought of another year of isolation or at least another year like this one is absolutely dreadful Now that we know what it’s like. Now that we have been reminded of what we miss.
December 2, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
This was a booklet in the Hospice room of my best friend for 50 years. I watched her as she died for 4 days. It was traumatic for me and I was told I had to leave the building on one occasion because, due to COVID, only 4 visitors per patient were allowed. The other 4 all knew each other from Florida so I volunteered to leave the room, but the Hospice people made me go out into the cold. I went out to my car because it was cold and I was not prepared to go outside when told I had to leave immediately. I cried in the car, then drove away for a while. I was already hurting because my friend was dying, but this unecessarily harsh rote adherence to a rule hurt my feelings. I watched the stages of dying alone except for the nurses.
December 6, 2021
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Some people are feeling intense feelings right now as a result of the pandemic. Is anything making you especially sad right now, or especially angry? If so, what's on your mind?
Went for a bike ride trying to be “normal” but there’s an air of grey and sad, like the cold damp of the day, that just sneaks in sits in your bones. As much as things have opened up, and as safe as the vaccine snd booster have made me feel there’s now a variant. And even if the variant hadn’t emerged and we were dealing with the tail end of the pandemic there’s too much hurt and anger and fear these days. We are so divided, there’s so much distrust, that I wonder / worry if it’s possible to dig ourselves out. So as “normal” as things feel there’s an undertow I doubt will ever leave….
December 7, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
For the past couple of years I have collected autumn leaves that have freshly fallen. I usually tuck them in the pages of a book and they become pleasant little surprises when I open a leafed book. This year I was going to do that and photograph them using a great ultra macro lens I bought for my Nikon camera. I picked up vibrant or interesting leaves, set them on my dining room table that has become my mini photo studio, and...nothing. Within a few hours the leaves dry and shrivel. Plus, that great lens is less great because I have cataracts and I can't see well enough to closely focus on whatever I put in front of that lens. But, I can use a different lens and take pictures of leaves that are still attached to a tree. This one was taken in October when I went on a photo trip to the Leelenau Peninsula. The leaves are importantly predictable. They mark the beginnings of withering daylight and hard cold that eventually slips gently into longer days and green. I hate the cold and the dark. I sang 4 concerts this past weekend, fully masked. There were 80 of us onstage, shoulder to shoulder. We were all masked and vaccinated, but Omicron now stands in the wings. Who knows when it will enter and how it will change us. The leaves loosened by fading sunlight and cold temperatures are predictable and at least dazzle us with color. Covid isn't predictable and it doesn't dazzle.
December 8, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
We got our first snowfall in Vancouver. It puts me in the Christmas spirit! This year is going to be way better then last year.We get to celebrate with our adult children. Last year they weren't allowed in our house because we were locked down because of the virus. My big worry is the new variant its spreading in Canada … all I care about that we can be together on Christmas day. We are going to a friends for dinner this weekend. We are all fully vacinnated. One friend wasnt included because her and her husband arent vaccinated. There will be 5 other people so 7 total .. its a Christmas get together we have done every year except last year. We also are going to Van Dusen Gardens which is all decorated with over 1,000 000 lights. Its so pretty . You have to pay to get in and you have to be fully vaccinated. We are also going to LaFarge lake that is decorated with lights.its a way better year,this year. Last Christmas everything was cancelled. We got our turkey for Christmas day the prices are crazy they want $85 for a 10 pound bird. Its because of the floods we had in this province a lot of livestock drowned .
December 9, 2021
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If you could have done one thing differently at the start of the pandemic, what would it be and why?
At the beginning of the pandemic, i stocked up with a healthy assortment of books from the library, from friends, and from my own collection which I intended to read or re-visit I did get through some of them, but I also fell into the bad habit of doomscrolling the news -- reading the endless parade of articles about politics, shortages, restrictions, deaths, the progression of the disease across the nation -- and finding myself unable to concentrate on books on paper i wish I'd committed to a limit on reading articles online and reserving a space for reading books Looking back, my time was better spent adding to the list of books I've read, instead of the amorphous blur of worrisome thoughts and dire warnings that constituted the daily online onslaught. I understand why I did it, but I'd do it differently today
December 10, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Today I used my best friend’s cookie recipe to bake holiday cookies with my daughter for the first time. It was a wonderful experience for us both, hopefully one we’ll be able to repeat at Christmas with my parents depending on what level of dumpster fire the latest Covid varient omicron delivers. My husband and parents are vaxxed and boosted, and I get my booster Monday. E is too young to be vaccinated but is great at wearing a mask so we’re still pretty confident in our trip. Worst case we stay home again and make another tray of these to feel better.
December 10, 2021
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We know that COVID-19 is hitting some racial/ethnic communities harder than others. Is this something you think about? If so, share some of your thoughts.
I came down with Covid on Monday. I am the first one in my house to get it and so far my husband and kiddo have both stayed healthy, in large part because we have a 3rd floor with a guest room that I have quarantined in and an extra bathroom that I can use exclusively. My husband and I are both fully vaccinated and our kiddo is only 4.5 so not yet old enough for the vaccine. I have thought a lot about the people who don't have space to isolate and who don't have friends to bring them all food and check in on them. We've made it this far. And although it hasn't been great being sick and in isolation, it hasn't been terrible. And I can easily be in isolation. So many people, especially those in minority communities don't have this option. I also have a full acre of land to get out on when I feel better and I back up to 70 acres of farm land, so I can safely get some fresh air too! My husband and kiddo are bonding. I am learning to let go and listen to my body. I am grateful for the support I have and the resources at my finger tips. I am lucky. So very lucky.
December 14, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
'nough said.
December 17, 2021
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¿De que manera el coronavirus le está afectando su vida en este momento? Cuéntenos sus experiencias, sensaciones/emociones, y pensamientos.
El 7 de diciembre, en mi país, quemamos al diablo. Es una forma de quemar todo aquello que es viejo en nosotros, los defectos, los errores, las tristezas. Sacamos de nuestras casas los objetos acumulados y purificamos nuestros espíritus. Este año lo volvimos a hacer, en familia, y la alegría es que estamos todos, la salud no ha fallado y el coronavirus no se ha cobrado la vida de nadie.
December 17, 2021
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Does this time of the year feel different than it normally does, or different than it should? If so, give some examples of what feels different.
Facebook posts memories of my former life’s posts, reminders of how my life has changed. This stained glass window is @ the Chapel of the 4 chaplains at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. I attended a holiday concert there in December of 2019 with my friend L. It was quite beautiful and many singers were winners of Marion Anderson awards. A church they’d been involved with @ 18 th & Lombard (?) was sold & They’d been looking for venue. The chaplaincy was new to the naval retiree and he prayed God would help him fill the chapel with music and life beyond the military weddings it provided. It was inspiring. I’m not a church-goer, but I was one for the first quarter of my life. I was thinking today that I miss the gyms and choir and the Handel’s Messiah and the Hallelujah chorus. I wouldn’t venture into a congregation of people singing hymns @ this point in time. I can make a plan to watch a service on tv and sing along and use my cd’s of the Messiah, hymns and Carol’s and I am purchasing some holiday flowers to decorate a bit more. I’m glad I have the memory and photograph to help recall my 2019 experience there.
December 17, 2021
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Drawing our little made on a thank-you card to his grandparents for Chanukah presents and our Thanksgiving visit. Took him about three days to draw and color. In thanking his grandparents, he also wrote: "It was super nise of you to let us in your house." Love that kid...
December 21, 2021
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What did you most enjoy doing this week?
This week I went to a "Getaway" cabin in Virginia. It was lovely. Just a small cabin with a bed, toilet and tiny kitchenette. I went with two writer friends, and we each had our own cabin so we didn't have to worry about anything covid-related. We hiked together, and then at night built a fire. It was really cold, in the 30s, and the fire felt very healing. Very primal. We toasted marshmallows and chatted late into the night. It was wonderful to be out in nature, breathing clean air. I felt very lucky. Very refreshed. Very fortunate to have good friends in good health. After so much negativity and worry about variants etc. it was lovely to be able to go away for three whole days and NOT THINK ABOUT COVID. Some day it won't be on our minds.
December 21, 2021