How do YOU spell F-R-E-E-D-O-M?

It seems pretty silly to be excited about playing golf, but at this point, it is fantastic freedom. Last week my partner (in two different golf leagues) and I wanted to play a practice rounds (practicing both golf and Social Distancing). The weather, however, was very uncooperative, being in the low 40’s (and probably 5 degrees colder way up on the hill course) and accumulating some snow overnight. We opted out for both days. For me, cold can be only so much fun when golfing. My most comfortable cold is about 66 degrees. So much for last week’s foray into freedom!

So, back to F-R-E-E-D-O-M. What we used to consider regular, everyday life now seems a rare gift. How will we interact in the future? Will we be distrustful, wondering who is carrying an illness that could possibly sicken or kill us? Will we ever again be comfortable to hug each other again? Will we experience freedom from worry, be as carefree and trusting as we once were a few short months ago?
I’ve just now realized that we have taken so much for granted. My husband and I used to do “Friday night Dinner & a Movie” – during non-golf season. Even back then we unknowingly practiced Social Distancing, as we went for the matinee: sometimes there were as many as six of us in the theater at 4:30 p.m. This would get us out of the theater and into our choice of a restaurant before most of the crowd arrived. We could then arrive back home before eight o’clock and fall asleep in front of the TV before nine. Hmm…are we getting old?
Well, the point is, what will we be doing in the future as we wait for the “Second Wave”? Have friends in, instead of going out? But only after we take their temperature out in the driveway? Sorry, a little sarcasm there. How are our freedoms being affected, at least for the wiser of us? Yes, I suspect our way of life will change and perhaps not so subtly or temporarily.
Freedom may just take on a slightly different meaning. Again, this will be a reinventing of ourselves and our environment. I’ll tell you what, I’m so glad I’m not 25. What a strange world these people are going to have to monitor for decades to come. Will it eventually settle into something do-able for everyone? And our parents thought it was bad back in the 50’s and 60’s? My goodness, what would they be thinking now?

“The Boyz” wake me up every morning at about 5:30 a.m. to let them out and get their breakfast ready for their 7 a.m. meal. Creatures of habit, you know. Increasingly, I think someone covertly taught them to read the clock. Just to add a little confusion, I have scattered digital and analog clocks throughout the house. Doesn’t seem to help, though, because at about 6:30 (a.m. and p.m.), they’re asking, “Is it time?” “Is it time yet, mom?” “We’re hungry, is it almost time to eat?” Their routine hasn’t changed one iota. They’re loving mom and dad being home, because they get twice the treats when they come back inside. Yes, this is quite the good deal for them!

Well, even with all these scattered thoughts, we just have to accept our new reality as there’s no sense in fighting it. That wouldn’t change anything. It would only make us crazy, apprehensive, worrisome and perpetually on edge.

So, how to do that? How to change our reality, our routine? Everyone’s new will be a little different, I’m sure. What are your thoughts, plans, strategies? Take it one day at a time and see how it unfolds? God Bless, Love & Hugs to you!