My motto, to keep from becoming overwhelmed has been "step by step". When I look back, I see the steps taken vs all the steps yet to take.
I bought a house and moved in June. Instead of taking my vacation to the beach, my niece revoked the invitation – due to COVID. (Her son had received a liver transplant when 3, now 12). This relieved my need to make a decision, able now to spend that week moving and getting a little bit settled.
After cleaning out the multitude of mint plants and digging out brush and trees, the once upon a long time ago garden grew 10 tomato plants, a couple rows of beans (minus bunny nibblings creating an immediate need for a placement of a wire fence), 3 measly carrot plants, and radish greens that quickly outgrew the tough stringy radish below. And zero peppers. Even so, proud gardener I was. I embraced the plants and seeds shared by friends.
The next phase was scraping and painting the “party pit”, dubbed so by Logan and Emma who helped initiate it the first week I moved. This area, covered by a slanted roof and surrounded by a wall, creates a basement walkout into a sunken patio. The pebbled flooring was power washed, the 1 foot walls painted and the ceiling scraped and then painted a double coat of white. The new plantings, from friends, placed around the top of the walls and on the poles, took off giving the area new life. The deadline was met, set by family coming through and hosting the staff retreat. Who knew how important this spot would be this summer. I have hosted many small outdoor gatherings, meeting the COVID safe guidelines. Even a midsummer night showing of “Hamilton” Disney channel style.
I was not the only one on the move. Emma moved back to Baltimore in August after living in Columbus since graduating from college in May 2019. A new start – a new place with friends – a new job – after hunkering down during the beginning of COVID. And Logan made a trek from south (Houston TX) to north (Providence RI) end of August after also hunkering down in Columbus a fair amount of the spring /summer – foregoing his AT backpacking trip planned in celebration of his Masters in Architecture.
Living with adult children during transition and unplanned circumstances brought both joys and frustrations, weathering the ups and downs of COVID life and the uncertainties of not quite knowing when it is safe to start work or what job to be doing or when to move, all this as I continued most of my work from home with more than enough hours of work to share with them. Yet, now when I look back, I see steps that provided movement for all of us to new places, making new life paths in the midst of the COVID pandemic. And as I look forward and plan, I understand more than ever that the uncertain lies ahead as well.
