I had grand plans to be productive over the weekend, since all scheduled activities are cancelled for who-knows-how-long. And yet, I accomplished very little. A major factor here was my back, a problem I’ve been dealing with for more than twenty years. The storm systems that came through last week had me uncomfortable and unable to sleep a good part of the nights.

On Sunday I was glad to be able to watch Mass at my church, Church of the Resurrection in New Albany. A friend shared the sentiment that televised Mass isn’t particularly moving. But knowing the people I saw on the screen, including the interpreter for our parish deaf community, made it so much more comfortable and inviting. The lack of music made it distinctly different, but I can deal with that.

After Mass, I proceeded to run a series of tests on applications for work. That took quite a while, waiting for runs to complete. And then today I was reminded that the testing is needed next week. Oy! Well, my practice run was very helpful.

This past week we have seen the state leadership impose a lot more restrictions. As of midnight tonight (3/23), everyone in Ohio is mandated to stay home unless you are performing an essential act. This isn’t a denial of freedom, but intended to protect us because far too many people aren’t taking the warnings of COVID-19 seriously. We’re still allowed to leave home to acquire food (groceries or restaurant carry-out), and we can exercise outdoors. Keeping a safe distance from everyone else is the important component to interacting with those around us.

I’ve seen a number of posts on social media where people are expressing anxiety. That’s not an emotional state I find myself in often, nor do I feel anxious now. I am, however, concerned. But worrying doesn’t help anyone or protect us…it just creates more stress. But I sympathize with those who have anxiety. I turn to humor a lot of the time, and there are plenty of wacky memes out there preserving the oddities of this time.

Last night when my back was particularly achy, I sought out a distraction. I found a wonderful one that surprised me. A friend had shared a link to a website through which we can see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). This phenomenon is certainly on my bucket list to experience in person, but watching a remote camera, situated on a Polar Bear conservation site in upper Manitoba, I got to witness it in real time. So very cool! And an unexpected bonus was hearing the wind blow on the plain. That sound lulled me wonderfully, and I had a very sound night’s sleep afterwards.

If you want to check out the phenomenon yourself, visit explore.org (10pm to 1am ET). They offer a slew of other live cams to observe nature (including indoor pets).

As seen on 3/22/2020