Gratitude

This morning I am grateful to be living in Grants, NM. The worst weather wise that we might have is a little extra snow once in a while. We don't have hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes. I feel very sorry for the families who have been left homeless in this pandemic. Yesterday I was listening to a man, living in Texas, who said he had to decide if it was safer to stay in the wake of hurricane Laura or take a chance of ending up with the virus in a shelter. What a choice!

Yes, the social distancing for almost six months sucks, but I don't also have to worry about my house being destroyed too.

Choices

I have been careful during the last five months because according to statistics my age puts me at risk for the virus. I was hesitant when I chose to go back to my chiropractor, but I needed to resume the treatment plan I had left behind. I was happy to see that precautions, set up by the Governor, were being followed.

Since my last adjustment I have been having a serious problem with my sciatic nerve. I knew I had an appointment on the 24th, but I called last week to see if I could get in sooner. I discovered that the office was closed all week. Yesterday the receptionist called to remind me of my appointment. I was told the office had been closed because the chiropractor went to Florida to see her mother.

It is mandatory that anyone coming into New Mexico from another state quarantines for 14 days. She apparently doesn't think that applies to her because she is a "doctor". I am pretty sure medical doctors are exempt if they are traveling for professional reasons. In this case she isn't and wasn't!

So now I have to decide if I am going to keep my appointment on the morning following her arrival  back in New Mexico or deal with the pain that won't go away. I don't think I have much choice since she is the only chiropractor in town.

I hope I have made the right choice. I have a feeling someone is going to report her choice.

Fiction or not

I just picked up the Kindle book, "The Back Door Man" by Dave Buschi. It is apparently about a time when everything depending on electricity is shut down. Although it is fiction it could happen. Who would have thought back in March we would be dealing with a pandemic that would change the way we live? I have often thought that if another country wanted to cripple the U.S. all they would have to do is disable the electricity.

If it wasn't for Benjamin Franklin and his kite, back in 1879, a lot of things just wouldn't be. The only money we would have is what is in our purse/wallet because there would be no ATM's The news would be person to person; no phones, TV or Facebook. If we wanted to cook something we would have to build a fire. Washing clothes, you better have a big tub and a clothesline.

Thinking about going back to a time when things were a bit tougher than they are now, I wonder what modern convenience I would miss the most?

Changes

I see it has been a week since my last post and I am thinking, have there been any changes? Nope not much.

My only communication with the outside world is Facebook, the grocery store and an occasional phone call to a friend. That's a great social life!

I would like to get out in the yard and pull some weeds, but because I have been dealing with a skin problem I have been told by my dermatologist to stay out of the sun. That's not so easy with the hottest summer we have had in years. Not having AC makes that fun too.

My oldest son lives with me, but he goes to work, comes home, eats dinner and I don't see him for the rest of the night. He might as well not even live here. I must say the rent money is nice though. It has allowed me to make necessary renovations to my house. Everything has pros and cons.

Well that's my life for the last five months since the pandemic raised its ugly head last March. 

The little camper goes camping

My son, who works at one of our local prisons, has four weeks vacation coming this year. Because of the pandemic he has only taken a day or two for appointments. Recently he purchased a small camper with the thought of using it for short trips etc. Two weeks ago he made a reservation to camp for two nights at a camp ground on Mt.Taylor. It was meant to be a trial run to make sure everything worked. Unfortunately, it rained all weekend and the trip had to be canceled. This weekend he will try again. A weekend trip to an Albuquerque camp site will be the maiden voyage for the little camper!

While he is away I also get a short vacation of sorts. At least I will have the house to myself for a couple of days. I guess that's not exactly true. I do have two cats and a dog to care for.

Just think about it

After not being able to use my internet or land phone for several days due to a Century Link problem I decided to use word and composed a little piece to add to my online group,"Let's Chat". The following is what I wrote to explain my absence from the group.

Missing from action

In case you haven’t noticed I have been missing from this group for the last few days. Although it was interesting to see what would happen it was not intentional. It seems Century Link decided it was time for me to take a break. Neither my internet nor my land phone had power. For the last five months, dealing with the pandemic, social media had been my main source of communication with the world at large. My dog and cats don’t talk that much!

Actually my phone wasn’t a great loss. It was a pleasant change not to deal with all the unwanted spam calls I had been getting. I do have a track phone for emergencies, but rarely use it. It is how I called for help from Century Link and was told it would be several days before they could fix the problem in the line.

As far as my computer goes I remembered that I could still use Word to write, which is how I am composing this piece. Where there is a will there is a way, they say. Even though I can’t use Netflix I can watch Hallmark movies on TV and I have a Kindle to catch up on the books I have stored there. Reading some of my word documents actually amazed me at how good they are and I once again asked myself- did I write that?

Before this new disaster, the first thing in the morning I would grab a cup of tea and check on what was happening on Facebook and the groups I belong to. That was a really hard habit to break. Instead, I turned on Good Morning America to see what was going on in the world. After viewing the horrible things that were occurring elsewhere I decided I could deal with the loss of the internet and my phone for a few days.

I also decided it was a good opportunity to see if anyone noticed that I was missing from action. I know my family wouldn’t. Perhaps this situation was simply to remind me that family is more than biology.

I accidentally noticed a day early that the Century Link line problem is fixed. Yay!! It’s great to be back!     

Attitude counts

Until about twenty years ago I lived my life as a "back up person". I mentally supported two now deceased ex-husbands and three children. In 1997 my last child graduated from high school and in 1999 my second divorce took place. I was finally free to figure out who I wanted to be. It took several years to make the plunge into an area I really knew nothing about.

I began writing this blog in November 2009. Until that day I didn't even know what a blog was. It reminded me of an experience I had in 2000. A couple of friends decided that I was the perfect person to be the new Resource Development Coordinator at our local Good Samaritan Center. I had never heard of the job, but interviewed and that's what I became. I plunged right in as if I knew exactly what I was doing. The same thing happened when I was asked to write a column for the then, Cibola County Beacon. Twenty years ago I had no clue that I was a writer. Apparently I was because I am still writing.

This morning I was listening to friends talking about the movie,"Forrest Gump". They concluded that even though people thought he was a looser, he became a success at whatever he chose to do, because impossibility never occurred to him.

After all these years of wondering if anyone actually appreciated the fact that I was no longer a "back up person" I received an unsolicited compliment from a friend that I didn't even know noticed what I was doing. This is what she had to say. "You are a thoughtful creative writer who likes to throw out ideas to get people to think. I enjoy your posts. They bring up ideas that are unique and thought provoking. Keep it up!"

A greeter

As customers enter our local Walmart, in addition to the sign saying, please wear a mask to enter the store, they are greeted by a young lady saying, "Thank you for wearing a mask". When I asked the girl if she ever got tired of saying that she answered, "it's my job". It made me angry and I am not sure exactly why. So I decided to explore the reason.

It made me feel like a little child being acknowledged for doing something I had been told to do. It made me angry. I wasn't a child and I was intelligent enough to follow the rules, without earning a Walmart badge!

Years ago I was a Walmart greeter who stood at the door and said, "Welcome to Walmart". The job ended abruptly when I was told I had to work the night shift, even though they previously agreed I did not have to. I lived alone, about a  mile outside the city, and didn't feel comfortable driving home after midnight. I later began working for a marketing company and executed food demos at the same store for several years, eventually becoming a supervisor for that company.

Due to the pandemic, I now rarely go to Walmart, except to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy. I prefer shopping at Smith's and Family Dollar. The checkers are nicer and I know where everything is located. By the way, both stores also have signs stating a mask is needed, but they have no reason to hire someone saying, "Thank you for wearing a mask"!

Thank you to both stores for treating me like the adult that I am!