It is Saturday, April 18, 2020. The boys are both sleeping in this morning before they head to their dad’s house for the weekend. I am the only member of the Storey home that is not asleep right now. The furs are all enjoying their post-breakfast naps.
Yesterday, Texas Governor Abbott announced plans to reopen Texas. That is not as promising as it sounds. He also announced that the schools in Texas will be closed the remainder of the year. Most expected that schools would be closed the rest of the year, but hearing the news officially was definitely a blow to one’s spirit. On the front of reopening Texas, I feel like yesterday’s announcement was vague.
Events are unfolding here in Texas/Harris County exactly as I feared they would. The headline of the first story on one of the local new pages is, As Gov. Abbott announces plans to reopen Texas, Mayor Turner, Judge Hidalgo urge caution.
Despite the fact that we are not able to vote in the election for Mayor, our city of Tomball is at his mercy because we are in Harris County. Harris County is a huge county both from a land area and from a population perspective. What makes sense for those living in downtown Houston, makes zero sense for those of us living in Tomball. A feeling of frustration and despair is settling into my heart. As I said a few blog posts ago, things are going to get worst before they get better as our city, county, state and federal government structures are put to the test.
I took a two minute pause between that last paragraph, and this paragraph that I am typing now. There is so much on my mind. Do I want to vent for a moment? Yes, I really do. Would I have a better day if I focused the rest of this post on the positive? Yes, I would. Still, I want to vent for a paragraph; I almost cannot stop myself:
My ultimate frustration is with human behaviors that are avoidable. For example, there is the obtuse, self-absorbed guy that posts a picture of his hundred plus dollar wine every night on Facebook, while so many are trying to figure out how they are going to pay their mortgages. There are the self appointed Facebook safety patrol members scolding everyone to stay home. My guess is that the Facebook safety patrol members do not rely on small businesses for their livelihood, and statistical analysis is not their strong suit. There are the endless Facebook posts riddled with inaccurate information that would take just a minute or two to verify before posting. There is the New York mayor who feels his only job is to critique the job that the president is doing. Do nothing and fault those who do take action, we have all worked with people like that, and they are the worst humans. It is not surprising that many people that fall into one of these annoying human behavior categories, fall into all of them.
Deep breath, no more venting.
I am sitting at my desk in the kitchen of my little house drinking coffee from my mother’s favorite coffee mug. This desk is where I am spending about twelve hours a day during the “New Normal”. From the window, I see trees and fields of grass. Two squirrels are playing together, popping in and out of the foliage around the trees. The blue bird that normally chases the squirrels is no where to be found this morning.
I can see the bottom of the pole that holds Little Chirp’s broken basketball goal. Trees cover my view of the goal itself. I love watching Little Chirp play basketball in the driveway while I work. The previous home owner and I met only briefly, and she mentioned how much she loved that basketball goal; I think that it would make her smile to know how much Little Chirp now loves it.
Storme is in a deep slumber next to me on the plush dog pillow bed that I got from the garage to give Potatoe a cozy spot next to me instead of laying on the tile, while I work. Potatoe is laying on the tile floor underneath my feet. He likes the cozy spot better, but he won’t kick Storme out of it when Storme gets there first.
This is by far the best home office set up that I have ever had. The place has a vibe to it that gives me a sense of peace. I am crazy productive all day. Both my employer and my client are beyond supportive of their employees. My employer has put their focus on how we help others during this difficult time. It is easy to be charitable during times of prosperity; giving back to the community means the most during the difficult times. I wear my t-shirt with my company logo one day each week; the shirt gives me the same sort of positive mental energy that my mom’s coffee mug gives me.
I am in a really good place both figuratively and literally to be dealing with the stay at home orders, disruption and difficulties that the Coronavirus has brought to our country. That does not mean that I am sitting at home drinking expensive wine every night, accepting of the situation that we are in. I feel that we all need to be thinking about our community and come together to help those in need and to truly reopen Texas.
I remember the day that the clouds finally broke after the endless rains during Hurricane Harvey. I remember seeing just a tiny bit of blue sky; I remember the feeling of hope that replaced the despair in my heart. I remember the song, God Blessed Texas, by Little Texas playing in my car while I drove up to see some of my friends at my favorite locally owned bar. I remember sitting on the back porch of the bar with people that I was overjoyed to see No one said much, we all sat and stared at the beautiful blue sky.
I am ready to see that tiny bit of blue sky.