settling in

hello friends. hoping you are all well in these unusual circumstances.

loving thanks and goodwill to all those who are helping to keep all of us as comfortable and safe as can be without being granted the option to hunker down at home: doctors, nurses, researchers, bus drivers, shop keepers, trash collectors, airline staff, delivery drivers......

thank you as well to the many who are creatively readjusting their services and talents to online communication to support us all as we begin this attempt to carry on at a new normal: teachers, professors, musicians, exercise instructors, artists, talk show hosts and other celebrities using their influence for good.....

the first few days of this COVID-19 situation had me pulling straight into myself and my family, i couldn't see past my core group. with everyone living away from me and paul, i was making sure communication was quick and accessible with each and everyone, encouraging and checking in that all fridges, pantries, etc. were stocked, mom was ok - well prepared and staying home, creating a sibling whatsapp group to communicate with my brothers and sister - basically going full force into mom and oldest child mode! i am settling in now that all is in place and am checking up with friends and other loved ones. as of this morning, (when this all started i told myself we would take this situation day by day but i have now updated myself to hour by hour) this is where we and our children are and what we/they are doing:

paul is now working from home and after a quick trip to costco for a whole home wi-fi extender system, has set himself up in the spacious and bright studio as he and the wide world of grain trading maneuver this challenging global situation. (he just had to cancel two business trips as well) i am loving having him just down the hall and sharing breakfast, lunch and dinner together. we are committed to making sure we get outside every evening to walk, bike, hike or work in the garden when the weather is nice, which today it is not. snow is falling and predicted to carry on through tomorrow so tonight may be a snowplow exercise for paul. but, these evening outings have become the highlight of our days as we feel a general dissipation of outside time pressures with the regular obligations canceled or closed. have you felt it too? we see families out biking, grandparents and grandchildren hiking together and we stay out and wander until it gets dark.

nicole and brandon are doing well in los angeles. some days they go into work and other days they work from home. they too are taking time out to walk to the beach and last night just before bed sent us all, via our family whatsapp, a calming palm-treetops-quietly-swaying-in-the-ocean-breeze video they took while out walking. lovely.

margo and andrew went into san francisco's order of 'shelter in place' on tuesday, which includes some of the strictest measures in the u.s. right now. people are ordered to stay home but may and are encouraged to go outside to walk dogs, run or hike as long as they do it alone or with family and practice social distancing. only essential needs stores are remaining open. their dogs have never been happier :)

in prague, ben and kensey are mostly upset and processing the fact that their upcoming trips to austria and egypt have been cancelled. last friday, czech republic declared a state of emergency closing their borders except for 11 monitored border crossings. all public facilities closed and ben and kensey are now working from home. kensey told me, to fill time, ben and sebastian have begun gaming together again which for the first time in my life actually warms my heart! i picture them as in days past, playing each other with their headsets on, but now from across the world. ben sends us photos from his early morning runs, mask and social distancing compliant, of the hauntingly empty streets, bridges and city squares of prague. with their tumultuous modern history, the czechs have seen their share of challenging times and ben and kensey are describing the czech general response as, "we've got this!" 

sebastian and madison live in salt lake city, utah and were already feeling a little on edge coping with the challenge of preparing for and adjusting to COVID-19 when an earthquake woke them from their sleep. yesterday morning, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit northern utah and tremors continued throughout the day. pictures fell from the wall, ceiling lights were swinging and car alarms went off in their neighborhood which set the dogs barking. yikes! but, they are all good with no permanent damage. only a little shaken ;) and unnerved. 

gabrielle, tucked in bed with her eye patches on, actually slept through the earthquake. that's my girl! gabi chose to remain in provo, utah after b.y.u. closed down last week. she has a lot of family around her and is working hard at her now on-line classes as well as at work at the crepery which is still open for phone orders @thecreperyprovo. people have been calling from the parking lot, putting in their crepe orders, then gabi, with her food service gloves on, brings out their order in a paper bag. she also had to cope with a power outage challenge at work yesterday when a construction worker on a nearby site plowed through a power line. gabi and her coworker quickly filled bags of ice from their ice machine to fill the refrigerator enabling the shop to stay open. tough times!

positivity and resourcefulness are gems these days. true leadership and deep character is manifesting itself. kindness and gentleness are choices and i applaud mothers and fathers who are making their homes a safe haven of security and peace for their children during these challenging times. i would like to leave you with a sweet thought and recipe shared recently by a cookbook author/beautiful mother with five young children living under lockdown in italy as she strives daily to protect, care for and nurture her family at home. 

*i think this sounds good for all of us, thanks @mimithor.

Three Good Things

by Jan Dean

At day's end I remember

three good things.

Apples maybe - their skinshine smell

and soft froth of juice.

Water maybe - the pond in the park

dark and full of secret fish.

A mountain maybe - that I saw in a film,

or climbed last holiday,

and suddenly today it thundered up

into a playground game.

Or else an owl - I heard an owl today,

and I made bread.

My head is full of all these things,

it's hard to choose just three.

I let remembering fill me up

with all good things

so that good things will overflow

into my sleeping self,

and in the morning 

good things will be waiting

when I wake.