I’m writing this in advance since Sideways Sally plans to be “gone with the wind and wifi” by Wednesday. OMOO has been back on G-Dock for a few nights and a few errands. YEAH for a couple of small G-dock happy hours. It’s starting to feel a teeny tiny bit normal. The Skipper has been happily dragged around to visit friends and make a trip or two to town.
The weird part came to mind as Sideways Sally packed in some provisions, and thought about being back on the dock. Everywhere we went there are three main topics of discussion: the pandemic, the presidency, and the economy.
Being Canadian, Sideways Sally is politically polite when participating in these conversations. Inside she’s puzzling over the lack of investment she’s willing to put into contributing to the discussions, either online or verbally on the dock. Now, come to some crazy jokes, and she’s all in.
Our Dutch neighbors were telling us about “a saying” which does not translate all that well into English, and it started out with comments about when SS would be able to travel by air again to see her much missed kids and grans. Our other sweet, sweet neighbor chimed in, “Sure hope they aren’t gonna check your temperature while you’re having a hotflash.” (Meaning the airport screening process) So “the box and the envelope” were mentioned, the “loose” translation of the Dutch description of the lady parts. Sideways Sally didn’t think before speaking, “Just lick it, oh no, wait, we’re not allowed to lick it anymore,” Covid restrictions!! Nothing like a good belly laugh!!
SS listens, she really listens to people. There’s so much anxiety out there, about what’s gonna happen next, how much will our taxes rise to pay for government’s pandemic response? How many neighbors to the south will sneak across the border, possibly neglecting the quarantine rules? How long will it take to find a vaccine? How much will we be set back if there’s another spike and we have to self isolate this winter?
We all wake up to these questions everyday, bombarded by the news and social media with unpleasant images of the protests and violence to the south. It’s too much, too overwhelming. It’s taking a huge toll on our mental health, thinking about all these things, talking about big problems, now that we are allowed to get together.
It’s the unknown that is the most stressful for people. We are planners, we get to “figure it out” most of the time. Not now though, it’s all a big “WAIT AND SEE.” SS sees you and hears you, she knows it’s impossible, cause it is. So here’s a little secret that works. It’s called “CHUNK IT DOWN.”
It’s too big to think of all these things going on around us. A friend we visited who overcame life threatening cancer this last year, is putting his heart and soul into creating a garden. A year ago he never would have thought he’d be doing what he’s doing today. Not something he’s ever done before, he proudly showed off his raised boxes of lettuce, impossible for the rabbits to get at, and his bucket of worms buried in the ground with holes in it for the worms to crawl through his garden to increase the amount of air and water that gets into the soil, breaking down organic matter, like leaves and grass into things that plants can use.
It’s amazing, and admirable, and awesome. Life became more precious, more real and more peaceful, all due to a major health crisis. I’ve watched the Skipper live like this and it’s pure pleasure to be in his company. There’s not much to get upset about if you may not be alive for long…
This is what we have to look forward to. This is our job now, to get through this weird, weird time. We get to do this, we get to learn, we get to love our lives, we get to sort out our priorities. This is chunking it down. Before you let yourself get bombarded with the impossible, be gentle on your soul, be gentle to each other, be gracious and grateful. This weird weird Wednesday, choose one thing to do for someone you love, and do it well.
Grab a cuppa (as they say in Oz) or a drink of something yummy and come along for a sail AND a G-Dock Happy Hour!!
