20220320.0001 - WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO?

 Hello Bloggees (Blog Readers),

So, if you look back through my past blog posts, you will see that there has been an enormous gap between now and the last blog post I made (20200607.0004 - ON THE ROAD TO BEING ANTIRACIST). What have I been doing for the past (almost) two years? Well, let me look back and see what I can tell you.

In 2020 the world saw the rise of the Corona Virus Pandemic. It actually started back in 2019 (Hence why it is called COVID-19). But it didn’t really hit Kansas until about March or April in 2020. I was also moving at the time, dealing with what was diagnosed as the flu (the Dr I went to see did the test and said it was the flu), and just trying to do my part time job for a local mental health non-profit. Basically, the majority of 2020 was just spent in lockdown and trying to make sense of the world in the throws of the pandemic. There was a toilet paper shortage (Yes! This was so strange. People were actually hoarding toilet paper.), there was a shortage of face masks, there was a shortage of hand sanitizer and hand soap. And we began learning a new way to get food and such (Uber Eats, Door Dash, etc.). I moved in with Michelle and Patrick and worked at trying to help be a caregiver to Michelle who was slowly going downhill. We were quite happy when 2020 ended and we ushered in 2021.

We assumed, of course, that nothing could be as bad as 2020. Well, assumptions were made, and they were wrong! 2021 was more of the same. Although, we had a new President (Thank the Heavens)! President Joe Biden had to battle the pandemic, a divided country, and a previous president that has continued to this day to claim that he “was cheated out of the election!” And almost half of the country (74 million I believe was the group that voted for Cheeto face) that has also continued to this day to claim voter fraud and other lies and nonsense. At any rate, we slogged and stumbled through 2021 trying to make sense of it all. Some of us were getting vaccines for the COVID-19 virus while others were actually calling the virus a hoax, claiming they couldn’t breathe with face masks, and some even claimed that the vaccine would make you magnetic and somehow make you connected to the cellular telephone 5-G system. (Really! I can’t make this stuff up! This is really what some people thought!)  By the way, the major cellular telephone providers were rolling out their 5-G systems at this time so, along with the pandemic, various everyday struggles and the like, we got to have faster cell phones! LOL! Also, during 2021 in May, I went from being employed by the local mental health non-profit, to being employed by the state mental health non-profit. And in June I went full time! This help with much needed funds. Again, thank the Heavens. I also became sort of a guru (a title I accept blushingly) with the Zoom meetings for the local mental health non-profit’s support groups. Yes, although I moved to the state level (virtually), I still volunteer locally. So, other than these highlights 2021 was more of the same – learning how to survive a pandemic, learning how to manage a little more money in the bank account, and still learning where to order food from on Door Dash so that they don’t mess up the order (we are still struggling with this one in 2022). One sad note to make about 2021 was the month of September and the day was the 19^th. That was the day that I received word that one of my all-time best friends died. Michelle O’Hara you were loved, you were a special blessing, you were an amazing confidant and friend, you are and will always be missed. In a lot of ways, you took the place in my heart that was left vacant when Kate left me. Now I am faced with discovering new friends to fill that void and somehow make my life bearable.

So, New Years Eve and New Years day of 2022 and we were just hoping and praying that it wasn’t going to be more of the same. Here we are in March of 2022 and time is going by far too fast. I have become addicted (somewhat) to Twitter. I am actually enjoying it, especially since I don’t have to hear (that much) about Cheeto face. I keep busy not only with full time work, but also with still doing volunteer work as well as extra trainings that I host since I have become a state trainer. What will the rest of 2022 hold for us all? Good question! We are currently facing the possibility of World War 3 (between Russian invading Ukraine and Ukraine seeking USA aid and Russia claim to fire nuclear missiles) and we are seeing the mask mandates easing due to more and more people being vaccinated, (the vaccine doesn’t prevent one from contracting the COVID-19 virus, but it does make it more bearable if you should get it.) COVID-19 is still mutating so that means we are struggling with the possibility of more or different vaccines. There are so many people who still don’t have the vaccine or can’t get the vaccine because of immunodeficiency reasons. Well, I can see that I have filled more than two pages (on MS Word) of this blog post, so I better draw it to a close. I hope, as I always do, of writing more blog posts, but life has a way of getting away from me, so we will see. Until next time, BE BLESSED!!!