This week felt like a new level of stay-at-home bliss. We rarely consulted the daily schedules, but we found ourselves naturally transitioning from creative projects to time outdoors to relaxing activities. Next week Aubrey’s school will start sending her distance learning assignments, so we might need to reinstate some version of the schedule to make sure those get completed. I have also been happily procrastinating some of my own tasks that I will need to steer my attention towards again.
I have observed a change in my engagement with the daily news. Although I originally planned to just check the news once a day, I found that some days I felt the need to consult it more frequently and extensively. Some of this stemmed from the isolation…I needed the reminder of why we are doing this and that we are not alone. I needed to know what the concerns of the day were on a state-wide level. I needed to find out what other people are doing and how they are adjusting.
More recently, however, I have felt less of a need for a regular report. Many friends and family have been in touch frequently via email, texting, phone calls, and video chats. This had made me feel less isolated and more connected to others. In fact, some days I have had to regulate the social activity to make sure I get out for a walk and take a break from the devices. I am grateful to have so many people who care about me and who are available to connect with me at this time.
Nothing fully replaces in-person contact, however, and the moments when I have been able to take a walk with neighbors or stop by each other’s yards for a quick chat have been my favorite times. Some of my neighbors have started decorating outdoor trees with Christmas lights which they turn on at night. They decided to do it as a tribute to healthcare workers and other people who work in essential services, to have a visual and uplifting symbol of their support and gratitude. A few of us gathered at one neighbor’s house a few nights ago for the inaugural lighting of her tree. As we left, Trevor said what he often says after moments like that: “We live in a good place.”
A sense of place is important to well-being and stability, and it is a joy to have this opportunity to connect to my home, my land, my neighbors, my valley, and all the wildlife that pass through. To have a structure to my days that follows the changing season and the weather of the moment feels happy and natural. To read or nap when it’s rainy and go exploring when it is sunny. To prepare the garden for planting. To see the first green blades of grass and the fluttering pairs of birds. To know that for the trees on my land this spring is no different than the spring before or the ones to come.
Angie Gustafson 