I completed our household’s U.S. Census questionnaire online today. (This is the first time it could be completed in this fashion.) Afterwards, I started thinking about what has happened in my life the past ten, twenty years. (The census is taken every ten years.) My husband helped me patch some of it together. I think it may be good to reflect upon our past, taking note of challenges and successes we have had, then appreciate how far we have come since then. The official census day is April 1st, April fools day. “Somebody must have had a sense of humor,” my husband said.
During this time of social distancing, I’ve heard people on the news talk about everyone having extra time to do things (at home) they might not have had time to do before such as clean out files or a closet. I am glad the government extended the time we have to file our taxes, as I am spending time doing some organizing while I am not discussing and posting cancellations, trying to decide whether to do zoom meetings or not, running to the grocery or drug store, cooking meals at home, washing dishes, trying to decide what to eat first out of the refrigerator, thinking about family and neighbors, or worrying about whether we have enough toilet paper, etc. One sister of mine is driving a neighbor, who doesn’t have a car, to the grocery store once a week. She is also taking walks around her neighborhood picking up trash. I’m taking time to read. We can learn and grow from reading. This would be a good time to read to your children or find some of the many online educational events popping up. The Cincinnati Zoo is doing a Home Safari FB live at 3 pm each day. I hope to do a FB live reading of my book Flip Flap Try soon.
My husband is spending most days helping out at a local food bank. He also is finding some time to “goof off”. He built several new bird houses. I gave him some walnuts in shells left over from my book launch to give to our backyard squirrel who has been eating up some of the bird seed from the bird feeder. I got to hear a cardinal tweet on one of our walks to the mailbox. My husband pointed him out to me. It was 
near the top of a tree across the street from our mailbox, “probably looking for a mate.” I also got to hear the spring peepers (little frogs). Have you noticed the trees are budding?
Life goes on. Our Country has made it through hardships before, though not so much in my generation. It is time for us to step up to the plate, keep our eyes on the ball, and swing. Like my pastor said at our last in person church service, “May we not forget to be kind.”