It’s St Patrick’s Day. I’m usually all over making either an everything green, or a traditional Irish dinner every year. No, we’re not Irish, as far as I know, but I am all over a celebration that talks about luck and blessings. Plus, in my understanding he chased all the snakes out of Ireland! (Allegory, you say? Meh! Don’t ruin it for me!!)

March 17, 2020 was not typical for us. There were no shamrocks, no Shamrock Shakes, no Kiss Me I’m Irish napkins, no over the top feast of stew, soda bread, and the honorary can of Guinness (which never gets opened, and then is annually donated to my best friend’s husband). None. There were chicken legs in the air fryer for the kids, smiley face McCain’s mash potato/fries/thingies, and Brussels sprouts. There was my annual insistance that my green eyes absolutely DO count as wearing green, and there was anxiety.

I certainly would have liked to do something for my kids, but between the overwhelming anxiety and fear, the lack of ability to enter the community, work, and everything else, it was not something that became prioritized. We did math, we did reading. I listened to a less than great audiobook by the daughter of BTK – if you are looking for harrowing hiking trails and a Christian rebirth, then this may just be the book for you! I tried to convince my 12 year old daughter filling Saran Wrap with beverages and popping them in her mouth was a choking hazard. This tiktok trend called jelly fruits (interesting since there is no fruit, nor jelly anywhere to be found) seems to promote the idea that if your parents didn’t let you bite a balloon and choke on it as a baby, here is you second shot as have a thin piece of plastic lodged in your windpipe!!! YAY!! UnicornBabyRoses trying to collect her inheritance early

I went for a dreary walk with my friends – the clouds did not part for us as they did on Monday. We saw gorgeous open areas and trees, but I just could not bring my brain around to find the glad. I felt despondent and weary. I was just tired.

COVID-19 continued to fear its ugly head, with 3 more reported deaths and nearly 100 new cases. Bars were ordered to close indefinitely. Public schools were ordered to cease operation indefinitely. Restaurants would only be able to offer take out. The social distancing was increased from 1 meter to 2 meters. Groups congregating would have to be less than 50 people, down from the initial mandate of 250 people. The borders to the US (the last open border) were closed for non-essential travel. A member of my extended family, and someone extremely important to members of my family was quarantined in the UK. There is no way to know when or if this person will be allowed home in the near future.

And yet? And yet we still have reports of such craven selfishness that people are taking it upon themselves to “prove” that this thing isn’t real. It’s hyped up. It’s no big deal. They wander amongst the population putting everyone, including the most vulnerable sections of the same at risk. They clear out grocery stores of needed items of food. They laugh when they selfishly purchase all the meat/toilet paper/sanitizer/Lysol they can find, assuming that they could sell it at a premium. People loudly proclaim that this is all a hoax… days before they are rushed to hospital with nasty symptoms that would stand to reason as COVID19. There is a feeling that humanity is falling apart and that the irreconcilable differences of the last few years have come up when we need to care for each other more than ever. There is a feeling that things can, and will get worse. There is a feeling that all the dystopian authors and filmmakers were more prescient about human nature than anyone else.

And yet? And yet, there are store opening special early morning or evening times for the elderly or those with special needs. There are people sharing information. There are people picking up needed supplies for their friends or neighbours. There is space in the deep freeze for your siblings to put their food. Yoga studios are live-streaming classes for yogis who cannot attend the now shuttered fitness studios. People are going outside. My parents dropped bags of vegan meat and seafood and lactose free milk at our door on a total, but most welcome surprise! For once conversations are about something major, with severe repercussions, rather than about the other moms at the school drop off. Our cars are parked. We are lowering our overall waste and greenhouse gas emissions. The planet is healing, and if we can follow these simple, but apparently terrible mandates and rules together, we may just be able to get through this without Thanos snapping away half of the world’s population.