What The Hell Just Happened

Let’s play catch up.  It’s been a hot minute since I’ve last published anything. It’s been two years – TWO years – and there have been a few changes.

• I’m a grandma
• We quit our jobs in Nevada
• We moved to Juneau, Alaska
• I left the mining industry and work for a brewery
• There’s a worldwide pandemic called COVID-19 that has most people quarantined in their homes

Other than that, life is about the same.  🙂

Writing – much like running – is therapeutic to me.  It helps me sort through feelings and ideas, it provides an outlet for stress, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. But why put all my random thoughts out on the interwebs for others to read?  Why not just write in the privacy of my own journal and leave it at that? I do write in the privacy of my own journal – and often wonder if my great-great grandkids will wonder what was wrong with Nana. And why not go for a run and not tell anyone about it or post any pictures on my social media account? I run many miles without telling anyone about it – except Wayne. I like him to know where I am, in case I need a ride home.  But what I have realized is that whether I’m sharing my thoughts, my running stats, the events of my life, or even sharing a recipe, it helps other people.

Sharing helps people.

It inspires people.  It encourages people.  It makes people nod and understand.  It makes people shake their heads and wonder. We all deal with the same kind of stuff in life – remember the saying, There’s nothing new under the sun?  It’s true (except for this COVID-19, apparently it’s new).  We all have heartbreaks and we all have victories.  We all get inexplicably sad sometimes.  We all get ridiculously happy sometimes. We all have humdrum lives sometimes.  We live.  We work.  We love.  We hurt. We cry.  We get sick.  We worry. We try.  We succeed.  We fail.  We try again.  We push ourselves.  We get lazy. We die – hopefully not from COVID-19.

Just remember, nobody gets out alive…NO!…NO!…NO!…not that one…..sorry about that….

WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER …that’s the one we like to hear.  You, me, the neighbors, the people at work, the people at church, homeless people, the folks at the grocery store, the people you like AND the people you don’t like. Even the damn politicians – we’re all in this together. 

So let’s help each other out.   Don’t hoard toilet paper or hand sanitizer or flour or beans or ramen noodles – or anything else for that matter.  Stop spreading hate and discontent and conspiracy theories.  This isn’t a live action version of The Walking Dead! Quit watching the news 24/7 and believing every crazy headline you see. And for the love of all things holy and sacred, quit trying to make this about politics.  Come on people! Find a way to be helpful.  Volunteer. Lend a hand. Check on your neighbors. Try thinking the best of others for a change.  Smile at strangers. Talk to the neighbor over the fence that has lived there for 10 years that you’ve never talked to. Cheer for the nurses and the firemen.  Send a bottle of wine to a parent that is learning how to home-school their kids – better make it two bottles.  They need all the help they can get.

Until next time, I’ll be working from home, under quarantine, trying to get in some miles to keep me sane and to work off the extra tortilla chips I’ve been snacking on.   Feel free to call me anytime – I’m an extrovert and I’ll need to chat.