It is amazing how slow I am to take advantage of the many benefits of the 21st century. Writing on the computer is a fairly recent development. Left to my own devices I prefer a really good fountain pen and a legal sized tablet of lined yellow paper on which to compose. Mostly because it's gotten pretty near impossible to find good parchment anymore and quills are so unkind to our avian friends.
Today, however, I crossed a major bridge out of the Middle Ages and into the present. I had a forty-five minute conversation with my son on the West Coast, my son on the East Coast, my friend in North Wales and Himself who was hiding in the upstairs bedroom while I took over The Pirate Room (a story for another day) downstairs. We were all visible (except for Son Number One on the West Coast who says his camera was wonky, but whom Himself suspected of suffering from "SundayMorningAfterSaturdayNight-itis"). But there we were, the five of us, the boys comparing beards with Himself, discussing with Uncle Terry the differences in the ways our countries are handling the current nastiness, jokes flying both ways across the Atlantic, and at some point I think everyone picked on Mom, but it was lovely!
It's not just a "Mom thing" either. The relief at being able to see the people I love more than life moving and jesting and being irreverent and political was a precious Google Gift. Phone calls are fine, but there is so much that can be hidden. Show me the face of someone I hold dear and I can skip the talking part and do an instant analysis on the real state of things. And so far, thank Heaven, things seem to be OK. Oh, we are all getting cranky and bored and impatient. That is to be expected. But we all realize how important it is, and what a privilege it is, to be home being cranky and bored and impatient. It's not just a privilege. It's an obligation. We have to look out for one another and we have to take the possibility of contagion seriously, either getting this thing or unknowingly giving it. Neither case is pleasant to think about.
Another nice thing about computers and the internet is that I got to hear Queen Elizabeth II stating in a calm and rational voice that controlling our wanderlust (OK...she didn't put it that way, but that's what she meant) was the duty of every citizen, and that some day we would all look back on this time and see how brave and patient and wonderful we were to make these sacrifices for the good of the world. She's 93 and therefore still old enough to be my mother, so I was comforted.
There are also a bunch of ninnies out there contradicting the scientists and pooh-poohing the necessity of masks or isolation. They play basketball in the streets, and loll on the beach in big bunches, and stand too close to one another at press conferences (Oops. Did I say that out loud?) but they are not the ones I listen to. There are tales aplenty of people expressing gratitude to the many people who are still working out there to keep things going. There are creative expressions which are comforting. There is poetry, there is artwork, there are musical contributions which are being recorded from all over the world and edited into one joyously defiant song. There are a million wonderful things going on. Today I shall focus solely on the things which give me hope and make my heart rejoice at the indestructibility of the human spirit. As this week's favorite meme says, "This, too, shall pass. It might pass like a kidney stone, but it WILL pass!" And while we're waiting, God Save the Queen!
Today, however, I crossed a major bridge out of the Middle Ages and into the present. I had a forty-five minute conversation with my son on the West Coast, my son on the East Coast, my friend in North Wales and Himself who was hiding in the upstairs bedroom while I took over The Pirate Room (a story for another day) downstairs. We were all visible (except for Son Number One on the West Coast who says his camera was wonky, but whom Himself suspected of suffering from "SundayMorningAfterSaturdayNight-itis"). But there we were, the five of us, the boys comparing beards with Himself, discussing with Uncle Terry the differences in the ways our countries are handling the current nastiness, jokes flying both ways across the Atlantic, and at some point I think everyone picked on Mom, but it was lovely!
It's not just a "Mom thing" either. The relief at being able to see the people I love more than life moving and jesting and being irreverent and political was a precious Google Gift. Phone calls are fine, but there is so much that can be hidden. Show me the face of someone I hold dear and I can skip the talking part and do an instant analysis on the real state of things. And so far, thank Heaven, things seem to be OK. Oh, we are all getting cranky and bored and impatient. That is to be expected. But we all realize how important it is, and what a privilege it is, to be home being cranky and bored and impatient. It's not just a privilege. It's an obligation. We have to look out for one another and we have to take the possibility of contagion seriously, either getting this thing or unknowingly giving it. Neither case is pleasant to think about.
Another nice thing about computers and the internet is that I got to hear Queen Elizabeth II stating in a calm and rational voice that controlling our wanderlust (OK...she didn't put it that way, but that's what she meant) was the duty of every citizen, and that some day we would all look back on this time and see how brave and patient and wonderful we were to make these sacrifices for the good of the world. She's 93 and therefore still old enough to be my mother, so I was comforted.
There are also a bunch of ninnies out there contradicting the scientists and pooh-poohing the necessity of masks or isolation. They play basketball in the streets, and loll on the beach in big bunches, and stand too close to one another at press conferences (Oops. Did I say that out loud?) but they are not the ones I listen to. There are tales aplenty of people expressing gratitude to the many people who are still working out there to keep things going. There are creative expressions which are comforting. There is poetry, there is artwork, there are musical contributions which are being recorded from all over the world and edited into one joyously defiant song. There are a million wonderful things going on. Today I shall focus solely on the things which give me hope and make my heart rejoice at the indestructibility of the human spirit. As this week's favorite meme says, "This, too, shall pass. It might pass like a kidney stone, but it WILL pass!" And while we're waiting, God Save the Queen!
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