Month: May 2020

Isolation Diary: I woke up sad this morning. And a little surprised at that because the day before had been full of fun, in person, with my family. This morning I was feeling the loss of other human contact. So I called a friend and invited myself over for a visit. A friend I knew had been in as strict a sequestration as I have been. We took precautions–distance, masks, sanitizer. Just pushing out my bubble membrane a tiny bit. It was so nice!! I’ll be ok for a couple more weeks now.

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Heatherlynn N.G.
Social bubble is an important part of reintegration. Working with people you trust and have good communication with is of the utmost importance. Stay safe.

Lisamarie C.W.
Glad you reached out to your friend.

My father served in WWII. A few years after his return to the family, I was still quite young, I was playing on the floor of our living room, I don’t remember the toys I was manipulating. My dad was sitting close to me. I, in my play, said something like “He attacks the Enemy!” My father said, “Don’t call him the Enemy, he is a person.” As young as I was I had some sense of what War is and that my father had been to War and yet he was telling me this. Surprising. Important. This is one of the few clear snapshots I have of my very early years. Oh, my, god, will we every figure this out?! And right now I am wondering, if that one statement was one element that led to the choice to pursue acting, a path completely outside my family’s experience. Many more thoughts tumbling after this, too chaotic to write.

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Henrietta C.
Amen amen. What a wonderful lesson from a father…

Natasha P.
lovely memory- thanks for sharing it with us.

Isolation Diary: Today felt more like a holiday than yesterday. I will leave introspection for tomorrow.

Isolation Diary: I see, hear, and read of the trouble and pain outside my boundary. I have a nice boundary. Grateful for that. My mind and my spirit and my soul are weary of the stupidity (IMO) and absurdity out there. I don’t understand so much. Why people do the things they do. I feel like shutting down until November. Closing off. Going deep into the Isolation. I probably won’t but .. it’s a thought.

Isolation Diary: Getting used to this new FB look. Why do things keep changing? Why doesn’t L’Occitane have my favorite lotion anymore? Okay, things are bad. BAD. I still have to get through my day. Which I did quite nicely until 10:30 pm when my sewing machine broke. I have lately (an elastic term, could be 3 days, could be 3 months) spent many evenings sewing while listening to books or podcasts. My tool is broken. I express myself thusly: Aaaarrrgghhhhh! I will seek repair and with what will I fill my evenings?

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Natalie R.
Macrame? I’ve recently felt the impulse to learn. Knitting things seems a good physical task right now, I imagine I’d like it once baby goes to sleep…

Tifanie M.
I have a sewing machine gathering dust and can drop it off this weekend if you like.

Ruth Silveira
Thank you, Tifanie! I found a place to take it for repairs and I have an old one I can pull out if I can’t busy myself some other way. I think I will pull out my sketch pad and begin drawing again.

Tifanie M.
Ruth, that is all wonderful!
Except I didn’t pull out that pad, I pulled out my old sewing machine and kept sewing.

Isolation Diary: Trouble everywhere, not unaware. But here are 3 things I know for sure: 1. Under the present circumstances it is good to have some unread books on your shelf. 2. If you live alone, you need a good back scratcher. 3. Sometimes the best thing you can do is make chocolate chip cookies.

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Susan J.
Sage

Isolation Diary: FB asks, “What’s on your mind, Ruth?” The old tale of King Arthur’s time about The Holy Grail and the Fisher King. Or how I imperfectly recall it. The King is wounded with a wound that will not heal. The kingdom suffers as the King does. We have a pestilent ‘king’ in the WH; is the country suffering because of him or is he there because the country was suffering? I suppose it is all one phenomenon. But not pervasive, not completely. There are true and good hearts active. Personally, in my little bubble, I had a very nice day until late in the afternoon when I finally became aware of what was going on. Still I maintained my equilibrium until Maggie (I was at her house at the time) asked me directly how I felt about the current situation. Or situations. Hard for me to avoid a direct question. And I went on a bit of a rant. Not about the current unrest but about the abhorrent betrayal of the Pennsylvania Democrats by the Republicans who, by keeping secret their covid positive tests (or at least there was one) from the Democrats but not the Republicans, and still meeting in committee, and declaring that all were safe, endangered not only the health and lives of the Dems in that committee but their spouses and children. This betrayal is symbolic to me of the pestilence that is manifesting in our country. I hope our Vote is a Vaccine.

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Ruth Silveira
And what is the wound that will not heal? In Trump? And his cult? This hole in their souls.

Susan J.
Oh, Ruth. As painful as it is to read this post, we all need to face these atrocities. On my darkest days, I then think: So. Now what?