BEAUTY IN THE TIME OF THE CORONAVIRUS

March – April, 2020

“What’d you want to do today?” she said and waited for his reply as if there were oh so many options they had in a time of social distancing and only essential businesses being open.  He replied: “Well, you know this right leg of mine limits our choices, but I suppose we could…”  Before he could finish his thought she sprang the trap: “We need a schedule, a routine to follow.  Otherwise we’ll go crazy, start nitpicking at one another, and add being miserable to our feelings of powerlessness in the face of the pandemic.”  He knew she was right, after all she had been right far more often in this journey started so long ago than he could have imagined.

Except for those days set aside to FaceTime/Skype/Messenger with the grandkids and shopping during senior hour at the local supermarket, they find themselves awakening later than usual, taking care of those mundane morning toileting chores, having their coffee, and breakfast for her, and sometime around 10 or so pulling out the exercise bands (shout out to Tom and Kelley!), and with some exertion break a sweat with their regimen.  Sometimes grandkids would ask PopPop for a special FaceTime connection; this always brought joy to his heart and centering to the day.  Then onto the shower, sewing masks and strips of cloth to make a quilt for her, visiting with friends still in the Park, reading, binge viewing of guilty pleasure TV shows (thank you Vumoo), a light lunch, long walks, the rigmarole associated with making and eating dinner, Scrabble and/or just enjoying the evening, mindless evening television, and bed…repeat.

We had planned on breaking camp April 1, heading to Palm Springs to spend a couple of weeks with Jack and Chris.  From there to Death Valley, Great Basin National Park, Boise and Coeur d’Alene before heading to the Olympic Peninsula.  The coronavirus (California is OUT!) and Brian’s quadriceps tendon reattachment has slowed us down until at least May 1.  From there we’ll see…  VDO is our home for at least an additional month.

Barbara and Brian love taking long walks together, holding hands and stealing kisses like a couple of teenagers.  Walking peg legged does tend to slow things down quite a lot, and while walks together have stayed in the routine, there are times that separate is good.  Brian wondered if he’d see anything picture worthy on his walks in the Park, and started to carry his camera – after all it is spring in the desert.

Hope you like the results…

The VDO Rose Garden…

What a chance to stop and smell the roses!

We’ve all been affected by the wisdom and longevity of self-quarantine during this time.  Are we bored?  Are we miserable?  Are we missing visiting our favorite place or restaurant?  Do we take advantage of every day to see some beauty in the world?  Are we catching up on those novels we’ve been neglecting?  Exercising?  Getting outside when we can to take a leisurely socially distanced walk to enjoy the sunshine?  Have we adjusted our activities to maximize the day?

For us – a suburban boy raised between the East Coast and Midwest, and for the mountain woman living in the foothills of the Rockies being in the desert at springtime is a treat.  VDO provided us a small slice of that glorious magnitude.  Hope you enjoyed it as well.

Barbara and Brian