Scheduling - A Week of a Few Changes

I won't be posting tomorrow because I have my eye surgery at 6:30 am and then I'll be going back home and going to sleep. So, no post tomorrow, and maybe also on Thursday, depending on how I'm feeling and how well I'm seeing. I'm still using an old set of eyeglasses for my and mid-range vision, but my first eye is pretty much healed now, and is just settling down into its' "new normal". And isn't that the case for so many things in life? 

As humans, our "normal" is actually always changing 
from day to day. But we establish patterns for our 
personal comfort and get upset when those patterns 
change or shift. 

How many times in our lives have we been faced with changes that required a reset to a "new normal"? It could be something as minor as breaking a bone and having to deal with the 6-8 week heal before returning to older habits. Or it could be something as life changing as getting married or having a child. Those are things that can affect change for long periods of time - sometimes the rest of a person's life. I'm absolutely sure that each of you reading my blog today will have experienced one or several of these changes that required a shift to a "new normal" state. 

Shifting from Black to White isn't always easy - there are 
so many steps between. But it's something that we actually 
are always doing, every day, in one way or another. 

How do you shift from black to white like that? Do you go kicking and screaming, ranging and raving about how things "used to be" instead of embracing the new and walking boldly into the fuzzy darkness ahead? Do you look around for light that you can carry into the darkness with you - things, tools. perhaps people, that you can take with you to make that new path more gentle and forgiving? Maybe you have a friend or relative who has walked a similar path in their own lifetime. They might have advice for you - how they navigated these new waters. Their advice may be what keeps you floating and away from the rocks. 

It's not always easy to ask for help or advice, but there 
are times when you will need it. There are also times 
when you will provide it to someone else who has 
asked. Life is very much a give and take - a sharing of 
experiences. 

Don't be afraid to ask for advice or help. The unique thing about the human race is our communication and our ability to reach out to others - sometimes perfect strangers - and learn from them. If there's a problem out there, I can almost guarantee someone else will have had it happen to them too. They might be willing to share their lessons, thus smoothing out a small part of your own road. You just need to be brave enough to reach out. Sure, the request might be met with a "No", but there's just as much of a chance that it will be met with a "Yes" and that helpful hand will be outstretched toward you. Be brave. Ask. No isn't a horrible thing, it just means you haven't found the right person to ask yet. 

Unfortunately, it was this skin suit - my sea 
turtle suit - that totally bit the dust yesterday. 
I got most of my swim in, but had to shorten 
it a bit before I pushed the levels of decency 
in a public pool. I should have two replacement 
skin suits no later than next week. 

So, I'm off to the pool for my swim today. I ordered two new skin suits yesterday, because yesterday's suit I was wearing ripped up the side from my ankle to my hip. It would have  continued to disintegrate, but I decided I'd better leave the water before I was totally exposed (good idea, that! LOL). I extracted the water from it, and tossed it into the garbage. New suits should be here by the end of the week. Plenty of time since I won't be able to swim until middle of next week - after my eye has had a chance to heal for a week. Be good, be kind (to yourself and others) and I'll be back on Thursday, Friday at latest. Slava Ukraini. 

Affecting Change - How Can We Help Others Achieve Basic Needs?

 I've been working on my newest story - for the Monday prompt. It flowed easily, and I'm in final edits before I post. Some prompts are easy, others are more difficult, but what I find really fun is writing to a prompt again. That's an exercise in thoughts and direction that I haven't had for quite a while, and it's wonderful to be back in that challenge mode. 

It's fun to write to prompts. It's a challenge that pushes 
my boundaries and makes me think outside the box. I have 
the next prompt ready to post, just need a bit more 
editing. Sometimes they're easy, sometimes not, but 
it's the fun of it that makes it worthwhile. 

We all give ourselves small challenges each day. It could be something as easy (or, in some cases, as difficult) - as getting out of bed in the morning. Having something nutritious for breakfast. Thinking about the day's schedule. But for some people, those three relatively easy things are great challenges. 

Shoveling the driveway is NOT one of my favorite 
tasks, although it's good physical exercise. I'll be 
running into time deadlines once we get our first 
snowfall. We're possibly getting that next week. 

On a snowy day when I need to get to the pool, the last thing I want is to drag myself out of bed. Those are the days when you'll get minimal "I'm here, I'm, alive, I'm heading out to shovel snow" blogs because the time needed to shovel cuts into the less than one hour I have to write and post my blog on swimming days, and I'm NOT cutting down on my daily meditation. 

I usually have fruit for breakfast. An hour later or so, I 
might have a couple of slices of grain-free bread. I 
always try to have fruit on an empty stomach and wait 
for at least 30-60 minutes before eating anything else. 
It helps digest the fruit, and is better nutritionally than 
adding the fruit on top of something else, like a cereal. 

Having something nutritious for breakfast can vary. I'm fortunate - I have excellent grocery stores nearby, and I have enough money to be able to purchase whatever I feel necessary for my food. I know that's not the case for everyone. I know that finding food, for many around the world, is a non-ending quest that often leads to hunger at night. Famine and starvation is too prevalent in our world, and really, with the resources and vast fields of food that are grown in the USA, Canada, Russia and other nations, there's no excuse. In my nation alone, we probably throw away enough food to feed the hungry of a small nation daily. It's to our shame that we're not helping as much as we probably could. 

This is the most recent World Hunger Map I could find. 
It's from 2020. That there is hunger anywhere in the world 
with the resources we have to share with others, is tragic. 
We shouldn't be seeing any color other than turquoise 
throughout the world. As usual, Africa is the worst, but 
India and Southeast Asia have their share too. 

As for the day's schedule - for too many in this world, that schedule consists of survive. Just the one word - survive. In nations split apart by war or internal upheaval, in lands where each day is another long journey for a handful of food, and in places where going anywhere is unsafe, survival can be questionable and, in some cases, almost impossible. 

If you've got enough to put food on your table 
regularly, heat your home, and you don't have to 
take your life into your hands when you leave 
your home or neighborhood, than reach out your 
hands and help others. Someone, maybe only a short 
distance from you, could use a helping hand. 

If you live in any place where the three stages of awakening, getting out of bed, and reviewing the day's schedule is possible and you won't take your life into your hands to obtain any of these three things, you're fortunate. You're very lucky. Now ... how can you pass your good fortune on to those who can't do these three things. Think about it - small things are perfectly acceptable, change happens with small steps. Affect change, in your own way, in your own time. Leave the world a better place tonight than it was this morning when you awakened. Namaste, I'll be back tomorrow. 

Endings - They Come, But They're Hard To Accept

Today is Wednesday, August 26th, and if the pandemic had been a short hop, I would be in Milwaukee today, taking a jewelry workshop from one of my favorite instructors and getting ready for the "Meet the Teachers" event tonight in the Convention Center. I'm here, at home, and quite obviously NOT in Milwaukee. I won't be returning there for this show again - ever. The Pandemic has had some unusual casualties, but the demise of a business and its' offshoots was one that many people never calculated. 

I'd attended the Bead & Button Show since the mid-1990's when they
were under the umbrella of "Embellishment" and Quilts, Etc. Having the
show (and magazine) close permanents shuts the door on more than
twenty years of my life. 

When most people think of the pandemic, they think of it a bit more personally. "Who do I know who had/has COVID?" ""How can I support friends impacted by the disease?" and "I've recovered, but now what do I do?" Of course there's also the feeling of frustration as we wait for a vaccine, and the equal annoyance with inaccurate test results if you took one of the many COVID tests available in your community. 

In addition to dealing with the virus, we've all been dealing with the effects of stay-at-home, the public unrest following the death of George Floyd and other murders by those we pay to protect us, and the dual dislikes of wearing masks in public and wading through the sewage of the Democratic and Republic Conventions. It's a Tweedledum and Tweedledee choice this November - bad or worse. I refuse to discuss politics in my blog or on FB posts, but I'm pretty unhappy with where the USA is politically right now but not seeing blue skies and bright days in our future either. 

My pharmacy, located across the street from my shop, was looted and
torched following the death of George Floyd. It was a frightening few
days for us, but we escaped because of the efforts of several neighborhood
residents who patrolled our little section of store fronts and turned
away several waves of looters and rioters. 

Look around your cities and towns. Are you seeing fewer small businesses? They're victims of the pandemic - closing left and right and leaving the retail pond to the big fish - the Amazons, Wall Marts and Costcos of the world. It's a pity - small business has always been the heart of America and we're losing a large percentage of them this year. So if you have a choice, please support your local small businesses - they'll appreciate the opportunity to serve you. 

I'm feeling a bit shell-shocked about my cousin Miki's death right
now. I'm shocked that I didn't know she died, or even that she
had cancer. But we weren't super close, just touched base a
couple of times a year. Still, someone important just left my life. 

Finally, on a personal note, I received notification yesterday that my cousin Miki died in late March from complications after pancreatic cancer surgery. She was a brilliant person - a law professor at Wake Forest School of Law for many years, married to her beloved Regina until she died from brain cancer in 2017. We weren't close, but we were in steady contact with each other. Throughout her life she lived with Crohn's disease, a crippling disease that required many abdominal surgeries throughout her life. I'm still trying to figure out if she was 6 or 8 years older than I am, but either number, she was too young to leave us. Still, if one believes in an afterlife, maybe she's with Regina again. 

On that semi-depressing note, for which I apologize, I'm signing off for the day. Have a wonderful Wednesday and I plan to be back with you tomorrow.