HAPPY EASTER!

Easter weekend 2020 is a completely new experience than any previous year for humanity as a whole. Lots of people don’t celebrate this holiday, and for those of us who do, the views and beliefs and opinions vary. For many, it’s a time strictly for religion. For even more it’s a time for making family memories and enjoying the magic of life in general as we welcome spring with open arms. I think it’s safe to say that this year it’s a holiday for solitary reflection. With global pandemic comes change, in practically every sense of the word, whether we like it or not. It doesn’t matter if we fight the changes going on around us, or if we accept them for what they are. The fact is, life for mankind will never be the same after this.

In one way or another, some things big and some small, life for people in this beautiful place we call Earth IS CHANGING. Some people feed into political angles and views, some cling to fear, some live in denial, thousands are passed on leaving their loved ones in a devastating state of grief, and some choose to lean against public humor as an outlet to maintain sanity…. However we’re living our day to day lives right now doesn’t change the one single thing that every human on the planet is experiencing. That single thing is personal reflection. It’s funny the way we prioritize who and what really matters the most  in our lives, once we have no other choice but to protect each other and those closest to us. I think of all the people in isolation alone, and even though lots of them prefer it that way, it still guts me to consider.

As a mother of two in a fairly small rural community in central Utah, the lifestyle I’m experiencing right now is very much like lots of other moms across the globe. Every single day, I wake up to my littles. I spend every waking moment by their side, and it’s my face that they see before sleep. Every. Single. Day. There are no babysitters, no sending them to friends houses or to grandparents houses, no trips to the park, no taking them to stores, and no dropping them off at school for the majority of their wakeful hours. I have a seven and a five year old, who depend on my husband (who’s an ‘essential’ worker) and I 100%. Not only to teach them everything they’re supposed to be learning at their age, but also to provide their fun, their sense of safety and security, their entire social life, and, well, to keep them from slaughtering each other on a regular basis.

Although we’ve been home on lockdown for over three weeks now, COVID-19 only reached my local community a week ago, so we’re really just entering the mouth of the storm. We’re yet to be chewed up and swallowed by it. I’d say that the majority of our community is doing their part to #stayhomestaysafe … meanwhile a good sized chunk of rebels could care less… which quite honestly scares the living shit out of me because it’s them that will affect the innocent. 

 ANYWAY, my point in this whole rundown is to really drive the point home that no matter what we’re each going through as individuals mentally, physically, and emotionally in this time of Global crisis, I hope that humanity as a whole can come out ahead. As it’s in time of crisis, fear, and contemplation comes the finding of strength and personal empowerment. Not from without, but from within. In time of silence, may we find inner peace. In a time of fear, may we find resilience. In a time of grief, may we rekindle love. In a holiday of solitude, may we find comfort and joy in our homes and in simplicity!