During another futile attempt at getting my oldest to nap during our morning car ride, I found myself in a neighborhood with some truly amazing creativity and one of the best mantras to come out of this ordeal. As the sign reads, "We Can Do Hard Things" what an amazing and galvanizing battle cry for those of us who are REALLY starting to feel the quarantine fatigue setting in. As weird as it might sound? I now find myself getting really excited to pack up the boys and seek out positive and creative manifestos wherever I am privileged to find them. I don't know, its become equal parts art project and scavenger hunt to me. Rather than compulsively check my phone for updates, or be inundated with news coverage or daunting political press conferences that look more like a dog trying to chase its own damn tail...I love getting my daily updates from those who are staying the f home. I can't emphasize enough how remarkable some of these pieces are. Kudos to the parents who are collaborating with their children to promote messages of hope and optimism and remind all of us that the real mission here is unity and togetherness. Among the many things quarantine has given me the opportunity to discover or re-discover a sincere passion for (cooking, reading, watching classic NBA games, documentaries, podcasts, and my oldest son's recent affinity for creating imaginative worlds) bad parent puns are certainly rating way the hell up there. I found myself stopped in front of a total stranger's house having a Ralph Wiggum moment while my kids looked at me like I was an idiot. "It says Be Safe, but with a picture of a BEE." Given the fact that I am married to a nurse (confession, this is the sign outside of her facility) people showing their appreciation for the healthcare staff on the front line resonates deeply. This is a woman who is completely invested in the safety and quality of life of her geriatric patients and unfortunately? Battling COVID? It means less time at home with her boys which has been wearing on her both psychologically and physically. The worst part? She feels so guilty about doing the job that I truly believe she was put on this planet to perform. I do my best to assure her that she is exactly where she needs to be and while not seeing her children wears on her, they are proud of her. Mommy is saving lives right now and she (like so many others including grocers, custodial workers, postal workers, basically anyone who is putting their lives at risk because they are an essential employee) is doing what she has to do to make sure that we can get back to normal with as many of our loved ones in tact as humanly possible.
Admittedly, some of these blogs I write? They aren't going to have a real specific purpose other than to share some things that I find outside of quarantine that I think deserve recognition. This is one of those posts. My novel is still going through the process of getting it ready for publication (I submitted the final draft on Monday) so there's no updates on that yet, and frankly? I don't really want to use this as a platform to assert my personal ideologies about...well, anything really is I feel everyone (as long as they're not hurting people) are entitled to their respective ideologies. Right now? I am just getting a kick out of finding such cool stuff out there and I want to put a spotlight on it. I hope this finds you all safe, healthy, motivated, happy, creative, and moving forward.
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September 2021
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