When I published my How to Manage A Grocery Stockpile blog post a couple weeks ago on Facebook, I got no small amount of ridicule in addition to the overall good reception. As I tend to run to the mild case of worrywart, this honestly didn’t bother me, but a lot of people sort of thought I was overreacting just a wee bit.
Since then, Covid-19 fear, along with an exploding number of cases, has taken hold. I’m grounded for the foreseeable future from travel. School here is cancelled for at least 2 weeks, and I suspect longer. A few nights ago my son and I went to the store just to finish our stocking up, and had what is likely an all-too-familiar experience now – the store was jammed, and shelves nearly bare. Still, between that and another trip I made alone the next day, we got everything we needed, and some to give away to those who need more. We even got a few pots of flowers to brighten the house. While these weren’t essential, I’m so glad we did.
We are stocked to the gills. We weren’t binge-buying toilet paper, that we get through Amazon and have a case in the basement already, so there was no need to clean out shelves. But we have cold and flu supplies and lots of food (plus wine and coffee!) and now there is nothing to be done but be home. For us, the good news is that going for walks in our rural area, or me going for runs are solitary things that don’t require contact with others, so exercise, at least for now, is still a good option. I can work from home. Having extra time at home, as much as I like being with my team, is going to be a wonderful thing. I plan to putter in the garden, clean out closets, declutter and organize.
I’ve been potting seeds steadily, for ourselves, and will start potting some for friends and loved ones. Today I spent an hour or so working on cleaning out leaves and debris from the front garden – I need to spend most of next weekend and probably the following doing more. While the weather, much like our economy and the future, feels a little unsteady right now, the garden binds me to the earth, holding me firm even when the world around me feels as though it may crack.
But this is the lesson of gardens, and of spring – whatever is going on outside of Sithean, the gardens must be cleaned out and prepared. The seeds must be started. The chickens tended, the eggs gathered. The children too, need tending.
Our time at home, despite the unsettled feeling that comes from the unknown, is a gift. Time will move more slowly. We will need less, do less. There will be fears for all of us, be they health, income or the overall economy. We can only control so much right now. Despite the feeling of precariousness in the world, I am grounded.
I wish the same for you and yours.
Little House on the Fairy Hill 