Good morning, all. I cannot seem to carve out a morning for continuing the series, so offer this up instead. It’s from Rowan Tree Travel & Fibercraft’s newsletter – a quarterly update we send out to our community. I’ll make time to get back to the earlier topic of starting again. I will. I will!!! As soon as I take care of a few items on my to do list…

The winter of our discontent…

Well, peeps (that’s short for people, not a reference to very young chickens or those weird marshmallow puffs offered up at Easter), here we are at the one year mark since COVID-19’s emergence. Who could have guessed our lives would take such an odd turn? Sometimes it really feels unbelievable. Even now, a year into it all.

It is, however, lovely to hear that vaccination efforts are underway. Bit by bit, we’ll get there. And for those of you far down on the “critical” lists, we feel your impatience. Many, many weeks are likely to pass before the RTT team gets our shots. But hey – that’s okay with us! There are first responders, medical staff, community elders, school teachers, and those with significant health risks to shore up first. For the rest of us, it’s just a matter of maintaining vigilance and patience. We will carry on with the hunkering down at home, social distancing and masking to protect both ourselves and our health care system. Keep on keepin’ on.

In the meantime… more time at home! What? You’re kind of sick of your home? Sick of looking at the same walls, same books, same list of projects, same people (or lack of people), same watch list on Netflix (is there anything you haven’t yet seen?), same pile of paperwork sitting on the corner of your desk??? Here’s a trick we learned recently, gleaned from the book “Wake Up Grateful” by Kristi Nelson. It’s a little thing, but hugely effective.

When you’re dragging, when everything is a chore and you’re having trouble feeling excited, appreciative or even the least bit motivated, take a moment and think about those things you have to do. You can write a list. You can review them one by one in your mind’s eye. Each thing, as it gets added to the list, starts with “I have to…”  Ugh.

Got your list?

Good.

Now replace “I have to” with “I get to”. Read & contemplate each thing with “I get to” in front of it. Really! Try it. No one’s watching.

I get to… work at my desk. Try the whole sentence. I get to work at my desk. Wow. Did you hear the tenor of that sentence? Completely different from “I have to work at my desk”. I GET TO work at my desk. Your next thought is likely to be along the lines of At least I have a desk! or I’m so glad I have work that I enjoy. or Thank goodness I get to work from home instead of as an airline steward right now. That must be soooo hard. The good stuff just builds from there. Boy, am I grateful for this computer. What an amazing thing technology is. So glad I can order some things right from my desk instead of having to go out for every little item this household requires. 

Try it with anything on your list. The impact is stunning.

I get to… go grocery shopping. Thank goodness our distribution systems are still working. I get to… put a mask on. Thank goodness we understand how to help prevent the spread of this virus. I get to… organize a Zoom for my bookclub/knitting group/family gathering/happy hour with friends. I am so glad we have the opportunity to visit with friends and family via technology. Can you imagine how hard a pandemic was in former times? 

And here’s a big one: I get to… stay home. Instead of saying “I have to stay home”, try it the new version of that same sentence. I GET TO stay home. Lucky you! Lucky me! Remember all those times you didn’t want to get out of bed go to work? Remember all those times you wished for more opportunities to read, knit, play music, garden (oh, okay, maybe not the best time of year for that one), pet your dog as much as he/she deserves to be pet, cook nourishing food, etc etc etc? Let’s face it. Before long, we won’t have the chance to be at home anymore. Our lives will resume. We’ll be rushing about, taking care of all the things we think need doing. We’ll be here, there & everywhere. And we’ll think Oh, why didn’t I appreciate that time at home when I had it?!?!

So let’s appreciate it. Look around. Say it once more, “I GET TO stay home!” Keep in mind that very soon, you won’t get to any more. Appreciate the possibilities of right now, at home, while you have them.

And we’ll see you again when “I get to travel” becomes a reality. It’s right around the corner.

Cheering you on (as ever),

Heather, Suzie, Amor & Audrey