The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is unplug my cell phone from the charger, carry it to my bed and flop down on the rumpled sheets to peruse the morning headlines:
The economy is crumbling
U.S. daily death toll at an all-time high
N 95 masks still in short supply
That riles me up immensely.
Next I listen to the daily breathing and meditation entry on my Calm app.
That relaxes me.
Then I begin my day with yoga floor stretches – trying to ignore the growing dust balls lurking in every corner of every room.
Next stop: the bathroom to examine once again my unruly hair sorely in need of a keratin treatment, a trim and color. Hastily I pull it back into a makeshift pony tail – trying to ignore the bathroom sink’s splotches of tooth paste.
Geez.
What’s the rest of my day look like? Besides from dusting and scrubbing sinks that is?
Like many, I have time on my hands and a mood that often fluctuates between boredom and restlessness. So I tackle the task of looking through old pictures to remind myself of happier, less stressful times.
Here’s one of me from 5th grade. No make-up. Too short bangs. Pony tail.
Here’s the one from today about 62 years later. No make-up. Too short bangs. Pony tail.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Okay, back to my routine.
With CNN on in the background, I maniacally and compulsively chop and slice veggies and potatoes to make pots of homemade soup to stock my freezer – just in case the corona virus interrupts the nation’s food supply. (The fact that most of my kids consider my culinary skills very subpar is beside the point.)
As a reward for my ingenuity and foresightedness, I delve recklessly into my other stock pile – of caramels – for a mid-morning treat.
After that I head outside for my Wall Street Journal – arriving at my door each morning. Amid the dire news is an article on how millions of American are heading into weeks of schooling their children at home while juggling full-time jobs. If you are craving some comic relief and a dose of solace relating to how parents cave into chaos, read on:
One couple found their kids in the garage using golf clubs as swords.
Another family describes their day:
In the morning, there’s eye rolling.
In the afternoon, we hide from each other.
In the evening, it’s “We can’t do it anymore.”
Another mother said, “I let my daughter watch things like this G-d awful mermaid adventure show that she loves.
One parent gave up on the idea of a schedule and just let the kids beat the crap out of each other with plastic light sabers in the basement.
And one member of our family – in an attempt to keep his two year-old amused – came up with this solution in his Brooklyn, New York apartment:
(The only problem is that the two-year old wants company in the bouncy house.)
After my sunset walk along the bay each evening, I make time for seeking out beauty. And today, I find it in pictures of spring bulbs and flowers bursting through the wintery ground in Ohio, sent to my two good buddies – Tawny and Gloria.
It reminds me of the lyrics of the song “The Rose” sung by Bette Midler:
When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long…
Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed, that with the sun’s love, in the spring becomes the rose.
Here’s to better times.
Iris Ruth Pastor