beBetter 

As 2020 winds down, I think we are collectively breathing a sigh of relief that we made it through an extremely challenging year.

Capturing the beauty and power of this storm so closely is a bucket list experience. Now, it’s certainly not something I have listed on my bucket list, yet as I experience this with CeCe with the wind rushing all around us, lightening beginning to pop in the near distance, it is an experience of awe and beauty. Scary, but beautiful, is the best way I can describe it. 

As most of us have come out of the stringent COVID-19 lockdowns, now is a great time to reflect. We have learned so many valuable life lessons. And the importance of connections with family and friends and making them priorities have been highlighted in many ways. 

What a joy it is visiting with my Mom in celebration of Mother’s Day. We are trying to distance physically, but we are both huggers so after a thorough sanitizing, we are both smiling from our quick hug.

I have mentioned before that Pop Joe and Mom follow my blog and she’s quick to express an opinion or ask a question. So as we sit spaced around the kitchen table she asks, “How did your new toy work?“ What is she referring to? “What do you mean, Mom?” “Your new fish finder, you wrote about it in your blog a couple of weeks ago. How did your fish finder work?” “Oh, Haha, it works great.” 

I’m reaching for my gumbo pot to pour in my sautéed vegetables for my favorite duck gumbo recipe and it’s GONE! I know I just put it on the counter after boiling the duck breasts. Have I gone completely crazy? It takes a couple of days of doing various tasks to make gumbo and today, I get to put it all together. YUM!

Looking into the freezer, I’m excited to see my canister of homemade chocolate peanut butter bars are right on top — probably because I was standing at this exact place last night, too, while CeCe was in the back of the house. They taste better when I sneak a few as CeCe likes to “encourage” me to meet my weight goal.

It’s silent on our nine-person zoom call as one of our partners, Bruce, shares very relevant insights with us. We are (again) experiencing that uncomfortable quiet where no one feels compelled to speak up. Crickets! I think this happens more than we want to admit in our new virtual communication world.

Just last night as I was straightening up our outside sitting area, I noticed CeCe had put out a new “thing.” CeCe likes to decorate and honestly, just between us, she is very talented with finding these “things” she accessorizes the house with. I laughed as I strolled by and glanced up to see our new sign: CLOSED.

CeCe and I are sitting outside next to the fireplace, entertaining some close friends pre-social distancing. It’s pretty chilly tonight with a strong north wind so I have the fireplace roaring. In my feeble attempt to dress a little hip, tonight, I reached on my top shelf of shoes and pulled out my retro Cole Haan boots. 

Entering the restroom, my eyes are immediately locked on this image and I can’t stop staring at it. This visual is cemented in my mind, and I walk out of the restroom with a new realization: we are officially in panic mode. It is showing up in different ways, but it is showing up in everything we are doing and experiencing.