“FEEL HAPPY” – created by a child in our neighborhood

I’ve been given unexpected gifts.

Time to Re-Focus
Sure. Sometimes my monkey mind spins out of control. You probably know what that is like. But when it does, I keep reeling it back in with the mantra, “Focus on what’s important. Focus on what matters.” And the bottom line of what really matters for me is quite simple.

Conscious breathing
Holding my man
Practicing tai chi
Connecting with friends and family
Writing

Time to Re-Invent
I’m not allowed to be in the presence of my two favorite young people, our grandsons. But I’ve been given the privilege of spending an hour every weekday morning in a Facetime session they call “Writing with Nani.” We spin words into goofy poetry, and we dissect the logic of an essay.

Most of all, we connect in ways we never have before.

Time to Re-Engage
Ed and I live in a small intentional community, consisting of thirteen homes. A new routine has emerged since the quarantine. One of our neighbors has become the community DJ. A couple of days a week  at 4:00 (unless it’s raining), she sits on her front patio and plays music from a loudspeaker for fifteen minutes. Spread out appropriately six feet apart, our community members gather in a large semi-circle around her and we sing and dance together.

Time to Re-Connect
Ed and I have made a list of people who are important to us, and we are committed to making phone calls on a regular basis to reconnect with them, beginning with my dear 93-year-old aunt in Kansas.

I’ve been given unexpected gifts.

I am grateful.