So, what a month, huh?? I am just back from my mom’s in Kentucky (have been home a week). Mom was hospitalized with a stomach virus and pneumonia from aspirating her vomit. Poor dear became more delusional in the hospital (than the days following her February stroke) and, naturally, weaker. She is currently at Home to Rehab in Lexington Country Place which is attached to the independent living community she has called home since 2011. But she will be moving into a personal care unit at Country Place once she is released from rehab. Which is looking like a week from tomorrow.
As often as we have told Mom she will be moving, and had the doctor at the hospital explain, too, she still doesn’t comprehend that she needs access to round-the-clock nursing. It will break her heart when the reality becomes apparent on moving day. When she returns to her things but not to the apartment she has called home.
Mom thinks she is being ‘punished’ with the rehab floor’s no-visitors, she must eat in her room, no leaving her room for any reason mandates. We keep trying to tell her it would be the same in her old apartment. And will the same policies will be in place in her new apartment. Until the threat of Covid-19 diminishes. She just doesn’t understand.
The Numbers
I am self-quarantining because I flew from here to Kentucky and back. And Covid-19 is everywhere. When I wrote this on Monday, 03.23.20202 as part of my morning quiet time, we had 10 cases in El Paso. As of today, Sunday, 03.29.2020, we have 31 cases locally.
We had over 550 cases in Texas less than a week ago, and over 2550 cases today [source]. An incredible increase in 6 days. There were 32,000 cases across the U.S. when I wrote this last Monday, with over 450 deaths. Six days later, we are at over 700,000 cases and 33,600 deaths across the country [source]. Just mind-blowing.
El Paso’s cases are all attributed to people traveling or flying to El Paso and bringing the virus here. So far, we don’t have any cases of community spread Covid-19. We have a shelter-in-place advisory with salons, nail spas, churches, schools, restaurants, bars and schools closed. The only stores open are grocery stores and home improvement stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot.
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Mandatory Slow Down
I want to use this “mandatory” slow-down to my advantage and do the cleaning…the DEEP cleaning I like to do this time of year. But I also want to spend time crafting, Bible journaling, coloring, reading, writing and working on little projects. Bought supplies to do these Easter/spring crafts before I left for Kentucky. Carrot cutlery for Easter, shared by Craft Gawker, and pinned, here.
And a combination of these darling spring time frames from A Cultivated Nest and Shelterness, both pinned to my Seasonings board, here.
I can’t help but believe in some ways this is a call to the whole world to slow down. To re-examine our priorities. We all rush around so much, putting out fires, adding more to our plates. More than we can possibly attend to well. I want to stop checking things off my to-do list without enjoying the activities that are more than daily chores.
For example, making the bed. I want to stop just a second to take pleasure in the clean sheets and my carefully arranged throw pillows. It makes such a difference in the way I start my day…seeing the bed made. Experiencing that immediate (if tiny) sense of accomplishment.
Put Up Some Chairs, Get a Smaller Plate
My Bible study on the Monday when I wrote this post was an additional reminder to slow down. In Present over Perfect by Shauna Nequist, the message on pg 43 was about putting up the chairs. The chapter discusses how quickly a large church grew larger to the amazement of the pastor. But it was because they kept setting out more chairs.
Many of us have come to equate bigger with better. Having more will make us happier. So we keep putting out more chairs.
I am guilty of filling my proverbial (and literal) plates too full. And when the activities, the projects, the ‘food’ and the food runneth over the edge, I just reach for a bigger plate. Maybe Covid-19 is encouraging, suggesting and in some areas, demanding we take down some chairs. Return to a smaller plate. Take a breath and say a prayer. Covid-19 is helping me to remember that when I feel overwhelmed, or when I decide to scrape something off my overwhelming plate, most of all, when I feel like I’ve hit rock bottom, I am never alone.
Support on High
My Bible study this week referred to passages in James and Psalms. A reminder that tests and challenges can be gifts.
From Biblegateway, James 1:4 The Message (MSG)
Faith Under Pressure
2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
And the promise that we are never alone.
From Biblegateway, Psalm 34:18 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
18 The Lord is there to rescue
all
who are discouraged
and have given up hope.
Not only do I want to use my Covid-19 self-quarantine time to slow down, but I want to fill my precious time with activities I truly enjoy. Just wish that could include being with some of my favorite folks. But they are self-quarantining, too.
Your Turn
Are there some chairs you can put away or a smaller plate you can start using? At least during this stressful time? What are you making time for now that you might not otherwise make time for in the hustle and bustle of ‘normal’ life?
My online book club just voted for our next read. Actually, it was such a close contest that we are going to attempt 2 books in April since we couldn’t decide on just one. We will be reading Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown, followed by Pearls of Wisdom by Barbara Bush. We’d be much obliged if you’d join us! Let me know, and I will send you an invite to the private Facebook group.
Stay well, my friends. Try to take this one day at a time. And make sure you do something you enjoy doing every single day.
Hugs and kisses,
Hi, Leslie – Thank you for the update, and for the reminder to take time to lighten our loads. Big hugs to you and your mom.
Thank you, Donna! Wasn’t it fun exercising with Sue?
Sending prayers and good wishes for your poor mom. I went through something similar with my mom. she had a stroke and dementia followed. She went to rehab, then assisted living, then finally skilled care.
I love the idea of a smaller plate. I think I will put out a smaller plate too! 🙂
We will have mom in skilled care as of Wednesday. Just glad to get her back among her own things. I am so sorry you have had to experience this difficult time with your own mom. So heartbreaking.
What perfect verses you shared, Leslie! Thank you! Yes, I think God may want us to slow down and get quiet for a bit so we can more easily hear what He has to say.
Thank you, Michael Ann. I think God wants us to get quiet and LISTEN, too!
Oh, bless your sweet Momma’s heart. My Daddy lives in an assisted living facility here and they’ve been under lockdown for 2 weeks and looks like it’s going to be at least 4 more weeks. Ugh! He’s handled it really good but some days he just wants us to have a good ole set down visit. I just hate it. I’ve been cleaning and cleaning and we’ve been busy getting our porches and patio all readied for spring. But, my social self is longing for social interaction. Have a great week!
Oh, Lea, we are in the same boat. My mom is finally moving out of rehab into a new (to her) apartment in a personal care unit in the same facility where she has lived for almost ten years. Tomorrow is the big day. But we have cautioned her that she will still be in ‘lockdown’ until this virus scare passes. At least she will be among her own things, though, now.
I am missing snuggling my grandbabies, but otherwise enjoying this quiet time. Getting some cleaning done, too and hoping I can convince PC to get new patio furniture this year!!
Thanks for coming by.
Praying for you and your family Leslie. Take care.
Thank you, sweet friend.
That is sad about your mother. But you at least could visit her! Here in the Netherlands carehomes are places you can not visit. Hospitals neither. Stay safe my friend!
True, we were able to visit with mom while she was in the hospital, thank goodness. But now that she has been in rehab for over 2 weeks, no one has been able to see her. She will be released from rehab on Wednesday, though. Hallelujah!!
Love this post BFF. We have both slowed down during this virus outbreak and that’s a positive. My hope and prayer after the chaos is that people have learned what’s most impt and that we all need to take time to stop and smell the roses, help the elderly and even stressed out young moms. To smile at strangers and say hello, tell that stressed out mom at the grocery how beautiful her kids are and she’s doing great! Make someone’s day! When we are allowed of course! There are so many people that need encouragement on any given day and you never know how much a simple positive comment can make someone feel. I’m thankful we grew up in much simpler times. I actually enjoy being at home like June Cleaver minus the dress and heels of course. 😊 God is in control and all we can do is pray, trust, be safe, responsible and help others when we can. Hopefully we as a nation are going to come out of this better than we started. XO
Love this message. So glad you were able to leave a message and I was able to see it. Ditto, ditto to everything you said. I really think through this virus, we are being forced to slow down, to get our priorities in order, and to learn how to take time for others and ourselves. God is in control and we must continue to have faith that this too shall pass. I love you, BFF!!
You are so good with your online book club, I haven’t heard of either of those books and will have to check them out (the book you’re doing and the runner up). Missouri didn’t have a lot of covid cases at first and now we’re getting quite a bit. It is so scary. I really hope it does subside after April… kind of hard to believe that now with it going up and up. I hope your mom does better in her new space, it is so hard for her to distance I’m sure where she’s at, probably even moreso than it is for us. Prayers for her and you! My bible study is with CBS and we’re supposed to do it on Zoom on Wednesdays. Not sure how that will work with Autumn asking me a question every 15 minutes on her online schooling. But, I’ll try!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Hope you are managing okay with the home schooling. Have any decisions been made about whether the kids will go back to school this year or not? Our latest day to return to school is 05.04. We shall see what happens.
Mom graduates from rehab on Wednesday. Hallelujah. Now we are praying she will do okay in her new apartment but at least we can take some comfort knowing there will be nurses on duty to look in on her at any time round the clock.
Everyone seems to be enjoying Recipe for a Perfect Wife. I have been reading just a few pages each evening and haven’t really gotten into it yet. Hope I can spend a little more time reading tomorrow and start getting a feel for the characters.
I’ve been taking away chairs and plates, and I didn’t even know it! Lent is my favorite church season, a time to step back, slow down, and focus on what’s really important. I was struggling to do that this year in the same way I have in the past, so this strangeness comes as a second lease on my draw down. I’m enjoying pieces, and not others, and trying to decide what that means for me going forward… I don’t want to lose the precious space surrounding me.
I have tried to look at this time from the same perspective you describe. It has been refreshing to have a few moments to read, to write, and to craft without feeling like I should be doing something more productive. Just wish I could snuggle my grandbabies.
I know! I’m desperately missing my grands, too!
So hard!!
Great scripture verses. One of my favorites is Ps.91: 2-3 “God will save you from hidden traps and deadly diseases.” Well, actually all of Psalm 91. It was my “go to” read when I was fighting breast cancer.
I’m glad you have things you can do while you’re quarantined. Take care.
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
Bless you to have fought and won against that evil foe, cancer!! I will visit Psalm 91 in my Bible, underline the passages and think of how they helped you!!