Oldies quietly resonate from the guest bedroom, and as my husband hums along at his roll top desk, he sits cleaning and sharpening his knives. Winston thinks it’s play time and has been prowling the house for all of his toys, carrying them to the guest room in hopes of enticing Andy to play. He is rewarded only with Andy’s response of “What’s up buhb? That’s a pretty sweet toy you got. Do you have any more?” Little does Win know, that’s Andy’s way of keeping Win busy without having to stop sharpening knives. Back and forth Winston goes, searching for his toys, stopping at each one to contemplate their value before galavanting back to Andy with it well slobbered in his mouth.
I went to bed early last night from a migraine and have been hiding from our shrunken world ever since. I am only responsible for my own actions and over the past few days, I have had to remind myself to choose words wisely. The stress of not being able to work, not having an income, and because I am a small business owner I can’t qualify for relief help or unemployment, the stress of possibly getting sick, or those I care about getting sick or injured in a time where the healthcare providers are already stretched so thin, and then the added stress of seeing close friends completely disregarding the Stay at Home orders, believing they are immune or couldn’t possibly pick up and pass the virus it along to someone more vulnerable - is turning into migraines and a heavy depression. I don’t want to lose friendships over this, but it’s difficult to look past their obvious ignorance and disregard of the well being of others. Even if life returns to normal, the friendships will never be what they were, and not knowing what to do about it has become a suffocating grip of anxiety.
Nothing can be done about it now though. But I could do something about that mountain of laundry that quiet resembles the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Winston, always wanting to be in the middle of everything, of course had to help out. After alligator snapping his refusal to get off the bed, I dumped the basket of laundry on top of him. He didn’t seem to mind and looked rather comfy under the warm clothes, so I started folding while he kept an eye out for squirrels from beneath the laundry pile. As I folded around his begs of belly rubs, he started needing to inspect everything. To please his need for attention and inspections, I started dressing him up. He couldn’t have cared less and acted as though it was no different then a normal pat on the head, so of course, I kept dressing him, taking it off, folding it, dressing him up again. It certainly made the dreaded chore more enjoyable!
Over the last week, Andy has been super helpful. We have talked about having a garden here at the new house and with a plan to reuse some of the wood we had prior to moving and what was left from the previous home owners, we were able to get 5 raised beds made and prepped, as well as a line of lattice for beans and peas! My mother was a gardener, but I unfortunately did not inherit the green thumb. This evening I hope to learn more about growing a successful garden, and tomorrow, we will plant the seeds!
… Or maybe I’ll just soak up the little moments happening in our family that make me smile, like a squishy faced upside down munchkin in the arms of my handsome husband. <3
If you would wish to help support my small business and insure that I can keep my doors open after the pandemic, here are a few ideas.
SCHEDULE A SESSION FOR LATER IN THE YEAR
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Mentorships begin at $100 and until the pandemic passes, will be completed through video chat.
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