I'm sorry I didn't stop by last week. I certainly don't have the excuse that I didn't have the time. I've got nothing but time. Honestly, I tried to sit down and write but nothing was there. My mind was as dry as a powder house as my daddy used to say. I never knew exactly what kind of powder one would keep in this said powder house, but it was kept quite dry there, apparently, just as powder should be. That is how I was feeling. Like dry powder. This quarantine thing was starting to get to me. We've really been sticking close to home as much as we possibly can, but I was starting to exhibit the symptoms of cabin fever. I was getting testy with my quarantine team here at home. I was missing my daughter and son-in-law so much and was wanting to see them. I'd done puzzles, painted by number, read, deep cleaned, cooked, refinished porch rockers, worked in the yard, and I was over all of that. I didn't want to be productive any more. The introverted half of me enjoyed this stay home thing for a couple of weeks, but the extroverted half had finally reached her limit on total isolation.

Then, last Monday, I met my dear friend, Michelle, for a quick minute. We got out of our cars and walked toward each other. These days, you don't know who feels comfortable doing what, you know? So, I waited to read her cues and when she came toward me with her arms out, well, I got so excited. She was my first hug outside my own house since all of this started and it felt so good. It was like a movie scene where two people (or a pig and a frog) run toward each other in a field of tall grass in slow motion as violins play. Yes. That's how it felt. It was a brief, but dramatic encounter and, oh, so good for the soul.  
Later in the week, I went to see my friend, Jean, for my first real social outing of sitting on her patio and eating takeout. She's one of those attention to detail people and very talented in design of all forms, so, instead of eating our Thai food from styrofoam with the included packaged plastic utensils, the picnic looked like the Dowager Countess of Grantham might be joining us. We talked and laughed for a couple of hours, face to face. I came back home a whole different person than the one who'd left here. I felt energized again from just a couple of hours of being with a friend. So good for the spirits.
Today, I went to my Mama's house to sit outside with her for a while. We talk on the phone multiple times a day and I send Carson over a good bit to drop off a plate of something I've cooked or goodies that I think she might enjoy, but we haven't actually seen each other in 3 or 4 weeks. With my Daddy in heaven, she's quarantining alone and I imagine that can get really dull. We kept a safe distance and didn't hug, but we covered a lot of topics and passed the afternoon hours together. She will fall out of her chair when she sees I'm including a picture of her in her quarantine makeup and hair. Quarantine makeup is the barest minimum mode of application which we are all in during this time so to not waste the good stuff while just sitting around in the den. Just enough to keep us from looking like a corpse is the level we're all shooting for right now. Quarantine hair.....well, we all know what that is, but I think my little Mama's has held up quite well. Seeing your Mama is always good for the heart.
We're all just doing the best we can to get through this weirdness. Our state has loosened some of our restrictions, so we can find a safe and responsible way to feed the extroverted part of ourselves when we need to. There's no greater balm for the tensions of the day than to see the face of someone you love. I mean, it's a lot of mental and emotional strain trying to remember to Clorox wipe the Germ-X pump because you touched the pump before you sanitized your hands. And it can start to take a toll when you hear someone coughing on the next aisle at the grocery store and you're trying to recall if the news said the germs linger in the air for 3 minutes or 3 hours or 3 days. In the South, you can get really stressed right now trying to determine if you need a malaria drug or a Claritin. And the pressure to come up with one more thing to do with chicken breasts and a pound of hamburger is relentless. Top it all off with the added weight that, between our masks making our ears stick out, the unruly hair, and overgrown bangs, we all look like Sasquatch robbing a bank.

Be safe, but do find a way to take care of yourself and your loved ones. Emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually. We all really need each other. I never fully appreciated just how much until now.

 Much love,