It's true about me, I'm a little Pollyanna. I can't help myself. It's just who I am. I chose the good things. To look at, to live through, to cherish, even in the really bad times--silver lining and all that. It isn't that I don't see it or feel it--those bad things, I do. It's just that after a time of praying and analyzing the situation and then going through the emotions of it, I chose to look at the positives.
So, here they are. When Covid hit our world, it took a devastating toll on me. And others, I am sure. People were dying, being locked up in their homes, and losing family members and friends. Businesses were shutting down, and restaurants closing. It was horrific. And I became very depressed. I knew it wasn't a deep depression where medication was needed. I knew from my education it was clinical depression. So, after really praying hard about it, I looked outside of myself and made the decision to keep busy. I had no idea how long this Covid thing was going to last, but I was determined to do my best.
Before the vaccines came out and we knew that European travel was out at least for a few months, we bought our first little travel trailer. We made our own happiness. We traveled locally mostly, as some states (I know, hard to believe) were shut to us. When that first summer was over, we had no idea that summer number 2 would be just as bad. But I'll get to that later. During that first summer, as I said, we had to make due with the resources we had. We had our RV, our home, and our family--as friends weren't allowed to gather. We watched church on TV, did minimal shopping, traveled about in our RV, and did some home improvements. In other words, we made the best of a bad situation.
When we bought our current home almost 4 years ago, we knew that every single room required renovation. We did the kitchen and bathrooms right away, and then room by room, we changed out flooring, we painted, and we put in new lighting. Our home was built in 77' and hasn't really been touched since. We had a lot to do. So what better time than during a pandemic, right? That first summer, we began slowly, one room at a time--first our master bedroom, then the bathroom, then came the...well, you get the point. There was so much to do.
We made it through that first year by keeping ourselves very busy. Then the following spring--vaccines came out. We were so excited, we lined up, got jabbed, and thought--woohoo Europe is next! Nope. It didn't quite happen that way. Not everyone got on board, and so the virus grew. Many businesses remained closed, many more people died, and depression once again reared its ugly head! I thought we were done with this! Why weren't people taking this seriously? Also, during that time, I lost many friendships and family relationships--I blame it on the cult of Trump. But I don't want to go into that here. It's too heartbreaking.
Summer number 2 living with Covid brought about an even bigger RV, and again away we went. We were now allowed (because of vaccines) to travel into other states, so we ventured further out. We had a wonderful summer--2 weeks away, 2 weeks home. However, still no European travel for us. We then again decided to finish up the restoration of our house. We had always figured it would take us about 5 years' worth of home projects to finish it, but thanks to Covid, we are now in the home stretch. We are almost done! It's February now, we will begin our camping travels again in April, and if things go according to plan, we might even get to go to Cannada this year! Alas, no Europe, however. That will have to wait another year, I know that I would not be able to handle wearing a mask on a plane for 9 hours, plus the airport time--forget it. With my allergies, cough from medication, and asthma--I wouldn't make it. It would be too stressful. I'll have to wait.
It seems as though this virus is dying out. Yes, there are variants; however, those of us that are fully vaxxed will most likely live through them even if we get covid. And, one day, life might return to normal--no masking, with stores and businesses reopening, etc.--one day, soon, I hope. I want normal again. I liked normal. It felt safe. I got to do what I wanted when I wanted to do it. I got to go places and see people. I was able to be in large groups of people and not spread out. Starbucks used to be open--all the time!
I want normal again. However, until that happens, I will choose the good things to dwell upon. I will try to keep busy, and I will pray for my friends and family (even though they've dumped me for their cult leader). I will plan trips, whether they are in an RV or eventually to Europe. I will think of new fun things to do to my home, I will invite friends over, I will be with my kids and grandkids, and mostly, I will be very thankful. I will continue to choose the goods things.
