Today is a sunny day but the sunshine betrays what is outside the front door.  Once I set foot out there this morning I was reminded that it is indeed October and things are changing.  No more sweltering temperatures, no more hellish humidity and no more stepping outside without a jacket – at least not today.  Changes… life deals us many changes.  Some changes we seek and some changes are thrust upon us like it or not.   This year – 2020 – has been a year like no other filled with changes.  I remember in January I decided I would try to engage more with friends and engage more with the world in general.  It seemed like a good decision for me because I have a tendency to be hermit-like and I thought it might be good to join in just a little more… and then the corona virus stepped onto the scene. Immediately everything stopped.

Everyone was told to isolate and separate and quarantine.  Instructions were given on how to wash hands and how long and those instructions had us all singing the “Happy Birthday Song” or the “ABC Song” twice – if not out loud at least in your head.    Heck I was good at isolating and separating and since that was my preferred state anyway it didn’t seem like such a big deal at first except for the fear of that killer virus.  That fear coupled with a lack of knowledge about this “virus” brought even more changes.  Added to the isolating, quarantining and hand washing the authorities here in New York added mask wearing.  Now months later we are still in a sad state of separateness but darn it we have clean hands and with our masks on we can avoid people at the grocery story that we might otherwise have to talk to.  This, by the way, is not a good thing.

I expect sometime soon we will conquer the corona virus with treatments and vaccines and then another season of change will emerge.  I look forward to the next season of change… which will be a time when masks come off and we can see smiling faces again.  I look forward to hugging friends and family again, tightly with eyes closed.  I look forward to strolling through our county fair next summer while taking in the smell of fried dough and sausage, peppers and onions all while strolling through the cow barn.  I look forward to dining out with friends with tables full of other people dining with their friends.  In the meantime though I will continue to spend most of my time in my most favorite place in the world… that place is called HOME!

I love my home.  I am a Nester and my home has always been a place where I can just “be me.”  I love my home where pictures of my grown sons and their families adorn the walls and where we gather in person when we can.  My home is my oasis and a place to heal when hurt.  My home is a place to be while taking in the cycles of life – being at home watching day fade into night, watching spring gently merge into summer; summer in the autumn; and then autumn into winter.  I love my home where snow will cover the garden while I daydream of next seasons planting scheme.  I love my home where I pet my cat Luvy, where I paint pictures, where I cook and clean and where I worship God for my abundant blessings.  I love my many homes where I have grown from a young and fearful girl into and older woman with lines and gray that say wisdom resides here.