It is Tuesday, March 31, 2020. I think back to my blog posts from the new year, I came into 2020 believing that 2020 is my year. I am not letting go of that idea. I am not denying the difficult times that we face as a world right now, I am just noting that the year is far from over.
Two weeks ago marked the beginning of our “New Normal”, which is when I began my “New Normal” blog series, at that time the belief was that the duration of the “New Normal” would be 15 days, which would mean that we would all be resuming our normal lives today. We all know that the “New Normal” is far from over. I am releasing myself from the structured outline of the “New Normal” blog posts. I want a little more freedom in capturing my thoughts each day.
Today, I am reflecting on the past, noting the present and dreaming about the future.
Reflecting: I find myself logging into Facebook every morning, and looking at the Facebook memories from the previous years. I have new appreciation for each of these days:
– On this day two years ago, we were in the middle of the March Madness finals. There was a team with a nun as one of their biggest supporters on a Cinderella run. I cannot remember the name of the team, but Michigan State beat them out of the tournament, which was in San Antonio that year.
– On this day six years ago, Little Chirp played his first ever game of Phase 10. He was just six years old and starting to play the games that Brainy Bird and I so dearly love. I am pretty sure that Brainy Bird let Little Chirp win that night. If so, that was the first and only time that Brainy Bird has ever let Little Chirp win. We have played Phase 10 hundreds and hundreds of times since, and at least a dozen times since the “New Normal” began.
– On this day eight years ago, I was training for my first and only MS150. The MS150 adventures were my first ever blog series. The MS150 has been cancelled this year.
Today: There have been more than 500 reported deaths in the US from the Coronavirus in the past 24 hours. Headlines on MSN are warning that as many as 100,000 Americans could die from the virus. Economists are predicting unemployment rates as high as 33%, meaning that one out of every three Americans will be out of work by the end of June.
I find it next to impossible to sort media frenzy from factual news at this point.
I have a minority opinion, in that I do not think shutting the country down is the answer. The spread of the virus is impossible to stop. I think preparing to treat people with the virus is where all of our energy and government spending should be directed. Let people return to their lives. More people are going to die from the mental health ramifications of the present situation than the virus itself.
The Present for the Birds: Brainy Bird made an incredibly delicious shrimp and okra stew for lunch yesterday, and then he made his all time favorite meal for dinner, which is chalupas. The two spent a good portion of the evening last night working on a logic puzzle, while I finished up some work tasks. I loved hearing their conversation on the rationale of their sequence of logic. I thought that it was interesting that Brainy Bird’s approach to solving the puzzle is to think through each and every possible answer, while Little Chirp is looking for a fast track to the answer.
The Future: There is a great deal of uncertainty in everyone’s future. We all experience different trials through out life, this trial is unique in that we are all experiencing it all together. Of course, the ramifications of this trial are vastly different for everyone.
I like thinking about what I am going to do when this is all over. I want to hop in the car and drive the boys to New Braunfels to see their cousin, Baby Huey, and my sister. First, we will surprise my sister by popping up at her restaurant, Adobe Verde in Gruene, TX. Everyone will be smiling and happy that the restaurant is reopened. It will be a hot summer day, and a cool margarita will be in every customer’s hand, while they wait for a table.
We will dine on our favorite Tex-Mex. I will eat too much chips and salsa. Brainy Bird will have chalupas, and Little Chirp will have his beloved enchiladas and charro beans. He is always in search of enchiladas like the ones at my sister’s restaurant. After our feast, we will take Baby Huey for a walk around Gruene.
That evening, we will pick up something to cook from the grocery store, and the boys will play video games with their uncle, while my sister and I cook dinner and sip wine. We will finish the night sitting on the back porch solving the latest New York Times crossword puzzle.
The next day, the boys and I will join Aunt Peggy for church and lunch. I wonder where Aunt Peggy will want to go for lunch. Maybe she will have a new favorite place, or maybe we will head to an old favorite.
What have I been so busy doing that it has been well over year since I spent a weekend visiting my family in New Braunfels?