Our Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “day/week/month/year.” Linda also invites us to write about the past year of pandemic, “how we have coped or not, to share our common experiences as a way to connect, to feel a little less alone.”
As a citizen of the United States, these past 12 months have been heavy, not just due to the pandemic, but also with the political divide and the racial injustice of the murders of George Floyd, Breaonna Taylor and others. It has been strange and confusing to have stay at home orders, masks and social distancing recommendations along with protests and demonstrations.
My hope is that with the pandemic calming down and someone less inflammatory at the helm, we can move into healing. It’s going to take a lot of work. A lot of compassion, listening, compromise, and seeking common ground… or higher ground.
I find myself feeling tired as I write this. There are bursts of energy when things get done, but maybe it’s a tired that comes with age. Still, my personal life has not been bad. I’m the oldest one in my family – my parents and siblings are deceased. Even Aunt Ruth in Wisconsin crossed over last year after a full life into her 90s. I am thankful not to have to worry about my parents anymore and feel for those who do. I am thankful to have the luxury of time and the freedom to study my father’s letters from Vietnam, and to write and paint.
Staying at home doesn’t bother me, except that I have not seen my granddaughter, son and daughter in law since October. I miss the mountains. It was in October that I last visited the mountains and first brought mama cat home from the church. She has kept me company when David is at his woodshop, and she has become much less feral.
Having a cat has been a big change after being a dog person for so long. The pandemic and people not being at church much was one of two factors that led me to bringing her home. The other factor was the abduction of her daughter, Gray, in June. I still go to the church once per week to see if Gray has shone up, but I don’t think this is likely. I talk to Saint Francis and pray my hopes and thanksgivings.
Not going to church and choir practice is probably the biggest change in my personal life. We do zoom church and I’ve sung and played a little guitar for that, because music is my favorite part of church. My voice is way out of shape when it comes to singing anything challenging. My friend Anne, who is in her 80s and teaches singing, is helping me with that. I’m thankful to have had both vaccines, in spite of the side effects, I’m glad to have a little more confidence if I do want to go out. I’ll still wear a mask and avoid crowds.
Hopefully we won’t have as much to protest or demonstrate for or against for a while. Maybe things will calm down and justice will grow. Maybe we humans will wake up, bridge the divides, and focus on healing Mother Earth as we celebrate diversity in all it’s beauty and strength.
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Thank you to our host, Linda Hill for the consistency of SoCS through the year.
For SoCS rules and more streams, visit:
The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS March 13, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)
March 13, 2021 at 8:52 am
Love your sign
March 13, 2021 at 10:11 am
Thanks, Linda. I must confess that it’s a neighbor’s sign. I still need to get one! But it’s a sign for my blog home! 🙂
March 13, 2021 at 9:07 am
I enjoyed this post, JoAnna. Love the signs, photo of the cat. Hope you make it to the mountains for the spring flowers! Take care! ❤
March 13, 2021 at 10:13 am
Thanks, Cheryl. I need to get Mama Cat familiar with a petsitter before I go to the mountains, and I am hoping to get there by spring! Have a good weekend! ❤
March 13, 2021 at 9:48 am
A great post JoeAnna thank you for sharing 💜💜
March 13, 2021 at 10:22 am
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for saying so! ❤ ❤
March 13, 2021 at 11:00 am
Credit where credit is due 💜
March 13, 2021 at 12:36 pm
Mama cat is beautiful! I’m glad she is adjusting to her forever home, finding the good life in being warm and well-fed.
Not attending church has also been one of my biggest changes in the last year. They have been allowing some people in with strict guidelines, but I continue to stream the service at home and connect with others in a chat room. It’s not the same, though, as being there, seeing my peeps and joining in with worship. Fortunately, our ladies study group meets online every other week, and that gives us the opportunity to have a conversation.
Stay safe, JoAnna, and I hope you get to see your family by summer or early fall.
March 13, 2021 at 5:57 pm
Thanks, Mary. I’m glad we’ve found ways to connect with people. Computers can be frustrating but they have been very useful through these challenges. You stay safe, too. Keep enjoying retirement!
March 13, 2021 at 1:01 pm
I love the signs you featured.
March 13, 2021 at 6:00 pm
I’m glad you like them. My favorites, too. Some good things came out of 2020.
March 13, 2021 at 1:22 pm
Both of the signs featured in your post say it all. I’m holding onto hope that we re-enter the worldly affairs of life with a new consciousness of our interconnections with each other and Mother Earth that makes our lives possible.
March 13, 2021 at 7:53 pm
Well said, Rosaliene. I’m holding on to that hope too, for “a new consciousness of our interconnections with each other and Mother Earth.”
March 13, 2021 at 3:11 pm
Mama Cat is very pretty! She looks like she’s adapted to being an inside kitty.
March 13, 2021 at 8:26 pm
She does seem to like being here and doesn’t try to go outside.
March 13, 2021 at 10:47 pm
That’s impressive, considering she was a feral cat….
March 14, 2021 at 9:43 pm
Yes, she’s come a long way. She can be very affectionate. I hope some day she’ll let me pick her up.
March 14, 2021 at 10:22 pm
Does she hop into your lap or sit beside you? Or are we still checking each other out?
March 15, 2021 at 8:40 pm
She climbs on my lap if the computer is not there. Otherwise, she squeezes in next to me. I guess that’s good for five and a half months.
March 15, 2021 at 11:18 pm
That’s fantastic! Can you pet her when she’s on your lap or beside her?
March 16, 2021 at 11:01 pm
Yes. She loves me to pet her. As long as I don’t move too fast. If I get up or she hears my husband’s footsteps, she bolts toward her room, but lately she’s been bolting slower and watching to see what’s going on.
March 13, 2021 at 4:35 pm
Your signs capture the essence of human decency. Thanks for sharing them with us today.
March 13, 2021 at 8:44 pm
I’m glad you get the messages within the signs. They are dear to my heart.
March 13, 2021 at 5:16 pm
I like your sign. And mama cat is pretty and looks sweet. It is good your church has the sense to have remote services and choir. You are all doing your community a big service but not becoming a super-spreader event.
March 13, 2021 at 9:34 pm
I’m glad you like the sign. Yes, my church has been careful. We met for Christmas Eve with masks and social distancing, but mostly we’ve been on zoom. Mama Cat has joined me on the couch as I type this. 🙂
March 14, 2021 at 3:58 am
We who don’t mind being at home are the luckiest generation at the moment
March 14, 2021 at 9:44 pm
Yes. I’m thankful that we don’t mind staying home.
March 14, 2021 at 9:43 pm
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences of this challenging year. I appreciate all the positive signs you shared.
Mama Cat reminds me of my husband’s cat when he was growing up. Her name was Funny Face and she was best friends with the family pony Johnny Ringo.
March 14, 2021 at 9:59 pm
I knew you’d appreciate the sign. Funny Face and Johnny Ringo sound like quite a team.
March 14, 2021 at 10:08 pm
They were! They preferred each other to any of the humans in the family.
March 14, 2021 at 10:28 pm
Beautiful thoughts, my friend. Yes, it has been a very tough year in so many ways, but hopefully we’re on the road that will bring about change, albeit not as quickly as we would like. I love the sign the little girls is holding in the first picture, and also the yard sign in the last pic. And Mama Cat is a beauty!!! Our five are driving us nuts these days … perhaps it’s spring fever! Have a great week ahead, and thanks for sharing your thoughts, making me smile a bit.
March 15, 2021 at 8:50 pm
I’m very happy to make you smile a bit. Sounds like having five cats makes life interesting! Never a dull moment. 🙂
March 16, 2021 at 2:41 am
You’re so right … never a dull moment! All of ours are rescue cats, so they have physical and emotional issues that make life really interesting some days. At one time we had ten such kitties, and then life was really interesting!
March 16, 2021 at 11:03 pm
Thank you for being a rescuer!
March 17, 2021 at 1:49 am
☺️ How could we do otherwise?
March 17, 2021 at 9:27 pm
Thank you for asking. I’ve processing old issues and taking care of myself today. Doing very well overall and grateful. How about you?
March 19, 2021 at 3:23 am
Good! I’m … rather in a funk, but it’s okay … just sometimes overdose on political stuff and need to step back for a day. Take care, my friend!
March 19, 2021 at 8:17 pm
I understand the overdosing on politics. That stuff can be toxic. That’s why I watch Star Trek to escape.
March 20, 2021 at 12:52 pm
Beam me up, Scottie! I used to love Star Trek, but haven’t seen it in decades!
March 20, 2021 at 8:44 pm
Sometimes I watch Star Trek bloopers on YouTube. 🙂
March 21, 2021 at 3:08 am
😊
March 15, 2021 at 11:49 am
What a year!! I agree with so much that you have written here, JoAnna! I, too, have a feeling of gratefulness that both my parents were not here for this year. I have thought about that and at first thought it was a little strange…to actually be happy they are gone. But then I knew it wasn’t happy that they are gone…just happy that they did not have the experience of this last year. It would have been really hard to navigate the last year of my mom’s life if it happened during 2020!
Anyway…there is so much that “feels” better…and yet it is sad to know that everything that was noisy and in your face still exists. I think that was one of the hardest things for me to handle last year…that I had to come to the realization that there is really bad things OUT THERE! Actually, it is people who do really bad things because of their fear…and while I can’t get behind most of it…I have to have empathy that they think they are right!!
I have not gotten the vaccine yet…I think our governor will lower the age soon. But as I write this I feel I am getting a sore throat…and it is all I can do to not freak out!! We were going to take our first trip in over a year the end of this week…and that feels a little weird too…it’s almost like I have become a little agoraphobic!!
Sending you lots of love and light…<3
March 15, 2021 at 9:32 pm
I agree that people often do bad things out of fear, though they often cover the fear with anger. Empathy helps, especially if we can have it on all sides, that would be wonderful. Sore throats worry me, too, but I suspect mine are usually from seasonal allergies. I’m wishing you plenty of love, light, and safe travels! 🙂
March 15, 2021 at 9:45 pm
Thanks, JoAnna 😊 Hope the rest of your week is super!! 🧡
March 15, 2021 at 10:40 pm
❤