Page 14 - ActsCOVID-19_and_Me

I rise in the morning when the hour is still quiet push apart the curtains to sight the suncatcher in my neighbor’s window an iridescent hummingbird forever in flight
we begin another day
Soon I found that once morning came there were numerous ways to fill the hours. Although provisions were made for dinner, housekeeping had been suspended because it brought staff directly in contact with residents in small spaces of the home. Consequently, light cleaning and daily tidying of the household filled a part of the day.
Then there were and still are more joyful tasks such as sorting family photographs, reading poems and essays written over the years, and catching up with friends on the telephone or seeing them and chatting with them on virtual platforms. Through teleconferencing, I continue my work as a volunteer and committee member as I meet with others to plan, implement, and complete projects. I have reconnected with classmates who write and share poetry through a Baltimore City poetry workshop. On Sundays, I attend worship with others from our meetinghouse. Each day, I set aside time to hear the voices of my daughters and granddaughter by phone or to see and talk to them in the virtual world.
For many years I have known that organizing time and planning events help to make my days unfold in a more graceful way. The long days of sheltering-in-place were no exception. Routines helped ground activities and provide focus to complete tasks. Life is busy again but in a different way. Although this time of the pandemic still astonishes me, I understand that life continues, and with it comes the work of living it well.
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