I did not fly yesterday from friends in Copenhagen to friends in Seville, Spain as planned. Hopefully that can be rescheduled in happier times. COVID remains a major concern. Protests continue, although several major Minnesota agitators have been identified by facial recognition and arrested. Both issues mean most of us do less public interaction than before. Starting March 19th, I sheltered alone at our small farm except for two brief shopping forays.
It’s funny the things we miss when we can’t readily get them. Besides missing social interaction and becoming a huge fan of livestream, what literal things have you missed during isolation? For the children of Israel, it was leeks and garlics. I relate. I have basic groceries at our small farm, but no onions. I’ve planted a garden, but it will be ages before my onion sets produce. I forgot what an important difference onions add to cooking. Most weeks, my older son brings things I need. I didn’t want to put him at COVID exposure for some whim of mine but finally asked him to bring me two or three onions. Imagine my joy to receive five pounds!
During those months, I did make two masked trips into stores in our farming area where there is little COVID and people social distance well. Toilet paper was available, but the store had no flour at all. They did have oatmeal, corn meal, and grits. Impulse buying took over as I bought all five cornbread mixes on the shelf.
May I never take everyday items for granted again. Like rubber bands. When you need one, there is no substitute for the task performed—like holding things together. (Maybe holding me together). For years, I’ve made the health drink, Kombucha, which requires a rubber band to hold a cloth or paper towel in place over the jar’s top as it brews. I tried hard to think of substitutes but found nothing. I finally asked my son to bring several rubber bands.
“What? There must be some there,” he said.
“No. I’ve looked everywhere. None.”
He laughed. I could hear him thinking, “Your mental health depends on one small stretchy piece of rubber?”
Pretty much. I had isolated for over two months. I didn’t know I needed rubber bands on my two short shopping forays.
“I’ll bring some,” he said.
Better, he ordered and Amazon Prime delivered a shipment. How much of something is enough to ease our hoarding fears and make us feel we can survive until shortages ends? My shipment arrived. Have you ever opened a one-half pound bag of assorted rubber bands in different colors and sizes? The cost was low but the value priceless. Now I’m equipped for any crisis.
What about you? What item in short supply sent you into a tizzy? Or made you desperate to find substitutes? Or new inventions?
Breakthroughs result from challenging times.
Our world will not return to its former status quo. May our new normal be kinder and far better at reaching out to include everyone around us than the days we lived before.
I miss church the most. Streaming is nice, but not like being there!
Yes, but it would have so much worse w/o the livestreaming. I cannot imagine how they survived Spanish Influenza days with so little communication or knowing what was happening on such a wide scale.