Refuge

At our house, we don't watch the news anymore. All we get are snippets from social media posts, most of which only exacerbate the feelings of fear and dread of our collective psyche.

There's the occasional press conferences we will listen to, ones that directly effect our region, state, and community. We're not ignorant about what's going on across the nation, across the globe, neither are we in denial of the dire situation we face each day during this pandemic.

I told my children yesterday that we're living through a period in time that will be looked back on for centuries. Their lives, too, have been interrupted. I realize that it's my job to provide for them some sense of normalcy. We spend as much time outside as we can. 

So far, my job is holding up. Each day is a constant worry of how I would provide for my family, should I find myself without an income. 

Every one of us will be affected by this, if not by the virus itself, by the economical situation. Family and friends have been layed off from their jobs, or at the least, furloughed for no telling how long. 

This pandemic is having its effect on our mental health, and I worry about those people who were already at the end of their ropes.

I'm so tired of hearing the term The new normal. This is indeed NOT normal. It is our reality for the moment. Eventually, this will pass. It appears that many of the talking heads on the news are trying to scare us to death, and squash any hope that things will ever get back to the way they were before. This fear porn is trying to lead us to complacency, telling us that this is how it will be from now on, that this social distancing and shelter in place will be the new normal, as they like to say. 

Right now, cardinals and finches are visiting my feeders. I just heard a pair of pileated woodpeckers sounding off in the creek bottom behind the house. I've been trout fishing twice this past week. I hope to get in the woods some this coming days, trying to call up a gobbler. I'll probably hit the North Fork again this week, maybe I'll catch another nice rainbow. I tied a few wet flies and nymphs yesterday in anticipation of the next time on the river.

We might take a drive today. Later, I'll do some things in the yard. We will get through this, even though it might take some time. 

Stay close to your family and friends. Hang out with your partner, or enjoy some alone time and take a walk in the woods. Don't take a single day for granted, and pray often. Take care of yourself, and those around you.