Saturday, April 18, 2020
Saturdays are when my significant other, Donald, usually does the weekly grocery shopping. Donald does not have any patience. I learned a little patience after my accident; I am pretty sure Donald lost most of his since then. Today, after Donald came back home, he told me the restrictions needed to be lifted soon or one of these weeks he would probably be banned from the grocery store for swearing at an employee.
Apparently, a gentleman passed out at the grocery store. The gentleman had regained consciousness and was talking to the several employees who had congregated when Donald got to the aisle. Donald ventured into the aisle, maintaining physical space, to grab some tater tots. For some odd reason, I have really enjoyed tater tots the past couple of weeks. I remember writing a few weeks (or months) back that I did not understand how the school could ruin the taste of tater tots. Donald does not ruin the taste of tater tots.
When Donald entered the tater tot aisle, an employee told him the aisle was closed. Donald has been around me through most of my occasional faints, so he does not consider fainting to be a serious medical condition, if you regain consciousness quickly. Donald told me there was not any blood or bodily fluids, so there was not any reason to close an entire aisle. Donald is also not sympathetic.
I paused to do my morning scroll through my Facebook feed and was pleasantly surprised Facebook’s algorithm decided to show me happy posts. I saw the best post I have seen yet, since we have been on our stay-at-home order (I also saw another really good one). The post read, “If anyone is not working/not getting a paycheck and runs out of food, for you, your children or your pets, please don’t go to sleep with an empty stomach. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to send me a private message. I will be more than happy to drop a bag of groceries at your door. I will confidentially drop and go with no direct contact for everyone’s safety. We are all human and we are all in this together. I live to serve” I wanted to actually initiate a hug after reading that post. If I could have given her a hug through the Internet if I would.
The second post I liked was one about us all not being in the same boat. Two different people posted it. It read that we are all in the same ocean, but we are all in different boats. I can relate to that sentiment, which is why I appreciated the first post so much. My family is one of the lucky ones. We all still have a job; and we can still buy food. No one in my household is going to sleep with an empty stomach.
I know hunger could be an issue with many people in my area. Hunger is not likely an issue for most of the people in my neighborhood, because I live in a neighborhood full of retirees and essential workers. However, last week the news posted how many free meals the school districts had handed out. My school district gave out the most free meals, and the number was more than 30 percent higher than the second-place district. The second-place school district also includes several low-income neighborhoods.
If I rolled ten blocks from my house, I would probably find a family in distress for every 20 or so houses. Situations like the one we are in now, is when I become acutely aware of my limitations. I want to buy a bag of groceries and deliver it to another neighborhood. I want to sew masks and bonnets. I want to do free babysitting for the parents who need to continue working a low-wage job. My boat is afloat; I want to help other people keep their boats from sinking.
My piece of advice to you is to work around your limitations. I know the 15 households on my block are on floating boats. On the next nice day, I am going to take my seven-year-old, Mika, with me to ring doorbells, and I am going to meet five neighbors on the street next to me and offer my help. Just because the majority of my neighbors are afloat, it does not mean there are not any sinking through the cracks.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
Saturdays are when my significant other, Donald, usually does the weekly grocery shopping. Donald does not have any patience. I learned a little patience after my accident; I am pretty sure Donald lost most of his since then. Today, after Donald came back home, he told me the restrictions needed to be lifted soon or one of these weeks he would probably be banned from the grocery store for swearing at an employee.
Apparently, a gentleman passed out at the grocery store. The gentleman had regained consciousness and was talking to the several employees who had congregated when Donald got to the aisle. Donald ventured into the aisle, maintaining physical space, to grab some tater tots. For some odd reason, I have really enjoyed tater tots the past couple of weeks. I remember writing a few weeks (or months) back that I did not understand how the school could ruin the taste of tater tots. Donald does not ruin the taste of tater tots.
When Donald entered the tater tot aisle, an employee told him the aisle was closed. Donald has been around me through most of my occasional faints, so he does not consider fainting to be a serious medical condition, if you regain consciousness quickly. Donald told me there was not any blood or bodily fluids, so there was not any reason to close an entire aisle. Donald is also not sympathetic.
I paused to do my morning scroll through my Facebook feed and was pleasantly surprised Facebook’s algorithm decided to show me happy posts. I saw the best post I have seen yet, since we have been on our stay-at-home order (I also saw another really good one). The post read, “If anyone is not working/not getting a paycheck and runs out of food, for you, your children or your pets, please don’t go to sleep with an empty stomach. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to send me a private message. I will be more than happy to drop a bag of groceries at your door. I will confidentially drop and go with no direct contact for everyone’s safety. We are all human and we are all in this together. I live to serve” I wanted to actually initiate a hug after reading that post. If I could have given her a hug through the Internet if I would.
The second post I liked was one about us all not being in the same boat. Two different people posted it. It read that we are all in the same ocean, but we are all in different boats. I can relate to that sentiment, which is why I appreciated the first post so much. My family is one of the lucky ones. We all still have a job; and we can still buy food. No one in my household is going to sleep with an empty stomach.
I know hunger could be an issue with many people in my area. Hunger is not likely an issue for most of the people in my neighborhood, because I live in a neighborhood full of retirees and essential workers. However, last week the news posted how many free meals the school districts had handed out. My school district gave out the most free meals, and the number was more than 30 percent higher than the second-place district. The second-place school district also includes several low-income neighborhoods.
If I rolled ten blocks from my house, I would probably find a family in distress for every 20 or so houses. Situations like the one we are in now, is when I become acutely aware of my limitations. I want to buy a bag of groceries and deliver it to another neighborhood. I want to sew masks and bonnets. I want to do free babysitting for the parents who need to continue working a low-wage job. My boat is afloat; I want to help other people keep their boats from sinking.
My piece of advice to you is to work around your limitations. I know the 15 households on my block are on floating boats. On the next nice day, I am going to take my seven-year-old, Mika, with me to ring doorbells, and I am going to meet five neighbors on the street next to me and offer my help. Just because the majority of my neighbors are afloat, it does not mean there are not any sinking through the cracks.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.