March 22, 2020
My neighborhood.
Total distance walked: 4.81 miles

Coronavirus—the topic of conversation taking place all over the world, the Internet, between family and friends, on radio shows and television. With 2,535 confirmed cases of coronavirus in California and 53 deaths (updated as of 3/24/2020), my husband and I are sheltering in place by order of our governor who has asked us to stay home.  Like everyone else, all that we do has been canceled: job, meetings, Mass, lunch dates, volunteer work, babysitting grandchildren, family visits and the list goes on. Even Yosemite has closed its gates.

By the grace of God, our family stays healthy, and the shelter-in-place order has not left us financially burdened. The blessing that has come from this for my husband and me is the feeling of more time to spend with each other, to relax together. Time to do projects that were otherwise low on our priority list. Time to take a long walk.

Lately, the weather has been cooperating for a cozy shelter-in-place. (It’s a little easier to stay home when it’s rainy.)  I watched my weather app closely waiting for a break in the rain.  It came mid-afternoon.  I grabbed my coat and headed out to view my neighborhood through the lens of my camera.

It was fun to photograph the interesting yard art of my neighbors.  There was a lot of rusty metal garden décor.

Since we can’t walk the trails of Yosemite, I pretended I was in the untrammeled backcountry.  It wasn’t hard to make-believe.  I walked along the damp trail—I mean roadway.  Muddy footprints followed in my wake.  Countless chattering birds were out and about enjoying the break in rain.  Their happy chirps and trilling lifted my spirits.

Every so often a crisp breeze whipped through the trees.  It wafted a spicy scent into the air.  The sweet smell of spring.  This is only temporary I told myself —the virus not the break in rain—as I strolled up and down the six hilly roads that make up our neighborhood.

There is a myriad of ways the coronavirus has touched people’s lives. I have been fervently praying for all who are sick and suffering, for those who work in the medical profession, for those who have fears and concerns, and for those who have died as well as for their grieving family members.

I pray that it has not affected your life in a negative way.  That it has given you time to enjoy something even as simple as a cup of afternoon tea.

Abide with the hope that in God’s time, this too shall pass.