Walking

Do you remember what you were doing on Sunday afternoon, May 25th, 1986?  Our young family of five along with my Grandpa Beezy in a wheelchair and my dear Aunt Ginny, and neighbors and friends from the community were standing in the middle of the closest major intersection near our house in a little community about an hour south of Chicago.  It was the Hands Across America event designed to raise awareness and contributions towards hunger and homelessness.  The concept was to form a human chain across our country.  Holding hands was to be a symbol of our unity as a nation.

Wow, have times changed!  Now, suddenly we are asked to distance ourselves, not only as a practical life-saving strategy but also because we care about each other.  Six feet suddenly seems like the greatest distance in the world!  

Oh, to hold a hand right now!

Thus far, in my walk through this uncertain time, I am constantly reminded of what I always took for granted.  I could make a long list of these precious things currently missing from my life, as could each of you.  We are daily, even moment by moment, reminded of these things.  No matter how long my list might be however, on the top of that list is the ability to give and receive a hug.

Three days ago my seven-year-old granddaughter, along with her daddy and mommy came knocking on our patio door as a surprise.  They brought smiles, encouragement and a couple of grocery items.  Yesterday my three-year-old grandson came to play in our backyard while his daddy and pregnant mommy sat several feet away from us on the patio.  Having only seen these dear ones on a device screen for several days, it was delightful to see them in person!  However the yearning to touch them and hug them was unbearably sad.  Emotions I have never felt came pouring out of some place I had never gone to before.

Yes, for each of us the life we had has changed forever.  Perhaps only in a movie could we have imagined this life we are now living, the plot of which would have seemed like fiction three weeks ago.  Oh, it was so much easier when this story was taking place on the other side of the world.  We could watch the news and think, thank goodness that's not happening here.  

For me it was a bit too real as I have two families I love dearly who are living in the far east.  My son and my daughter and their families were closer to the epicenter of disaster and that made it more worrisome for me.  However, it was still far away from my daily life, and perhaps to shelter my own response, I kept my emotions in check.  

Now, not only one country, or one region share this awful thing, but the entire world shares it.  This is the reality.  This is the fact.  This is how the world is connected, and a result of how the world is connected.  We can debate who did what to make it worse or who made the best decisions along the way but the fact is we, the world, are all in this together.  If we debate, let our discourse be for the common good and to prevent this from ever happening again.

The tragic losses, the physical and emotional suffering, the fear of the unknown, the loss of control and the major and minor daily inconveniences are our new reality.  None of us knows what the next hour or the next day will bring.  The only thing we can do is to keep walking through this.

I choose to walk through this new reality living my best life possible right now.  Oh yes, there have been tears.  I let them flow and then I take a moment to refocus and get on with my walk. I am going to follow scientific data that indicates social distancing is the best thing for me, for my immediate family living in three different countries, for my neighbors and community and for the potential benefit to every single person in the world.  I am going to encourage you to do the same.  I am going to be grateful for all the people who are on the front lines.  Their sacrifice is truly incredible! I am staying busy within my own little world hopefully still contributing by sewing masks and by staying in touch and encouraging each of you.  I am going to pray that good things can come out of what we are going through, and of course I am praying for a swift end to this world pandemic as well as our safe keeping.  

Gratitude, along with distancing and encouraging and praying and walking is all I can do. It is also everything I can do.  In my mind the way the 2020 version of Hands Across America (and the World) works is that we are standing six feet apart from each other, but perhaps when we have walked through this time together we will be closer than ever.   Our new perspective will have forever changed. May we be willing to learn the lessons form this walk and have a better understanding of what is truly important!

Keep walking!  

Keep loving!

And oh yes, keep hoping that hugs will never be restricted again!