Hope and despair

 I am very happy to report that I was NOT sore after doing all of that hard work last weekend! Not even a little!

Also, my doc visit went well, and my blood work still looks good.

I've had a lot of pain this past week, though, from the weather changes.

The storm that came was not too bad.  We got about 3 inches of beautiful snow, and the predicted low temperature was not as cold as they'd thought it was going to be.

Anyway, I ordered groceries for delivery last Thursday, ahead of the predicted storm, because I didn't want us to have to go out into the crazy "milk and bread" crowds ourselves that day, and we didn't know how bad the roads would be Friday and Saturday.

As it turned out, the snow stopped by 11 am Friday, and where it was on the pavement had melted by about 2 pm.  However, the morning commute saw three times the normal number of car accidents in and around the city, so it was a mess to start with.

Now, it looks like we are out of the winter weather woods for a while, and should start to see more spring-like weather on a more consistent basis.

Maybe next weekend, the pain will be gone, and I can refresh the other garden containers on the patio.

Covid numbers continue to look better and better in Oklahoma, and in the metro area.  We went out yesterday and did a few more errands.  It was SO GOOD to be out and about again!  

We even went somewhere to eat lunch...in a public place!  Yes, we wore masks, and yes, we sat far away from strangers.....but we DID visit, for a moment, with the friend who owns the business we went to patronize.

I also feel a LOT better about my job with the absence of the negative factors that have pressured me and my co workers for years and years.  

SO, that is the hope in this blog post's title.

The despair is deeper, and darker, and frightening.  

The ever-widening war in Ukraine, and the extremely dire 2022 climate report from the UN have compounded to really darken my overall outlook.

I know I am not alone in this helpless feeling that we ordinary citizens are now left with no choice but to watch our world burn.

All of this, after a devastating global pandemic.... and the new catch phrase is Crisis Fatigue.

In an effort to deal with this fatigue, I have taken a break from consuming so much news.  

No more headlines on Alexa first thing in the morning. No more lunch time news.  No more checking my phone for news updates.  Just one hour, after work, Monday through Friday. Half an hour local, half an hour national. 

That's been helping.

A trip to the woods would help more. Maybe this afternoon.

So. Today.  I will dance.  I will wash sheets.  I will cook food.  I will breathe, and I will narrow my focus.  

What will you do?