Hi there! It’s November already and it feels like a little bit since I’ve just written about life and the goings on. I started to write this post last week and, I’ll be honest, it was a pretty downer post. I was feeling the effects of the rain, the rising COVID numbers in our province, and the chaos of the American election. Thursday brought sunshine though and my attitude slowly began to change. On that day I was able to join Pearl’s class on a field trip to a local garden. Seeing as I can’t even enter her school right now, it was extra special to be a part of this.
On Friday, I had an extra long walk with a friend I hadn’t seen in months and Rose and I made a trip to the library. And on Saturday, we breathed a small sigh of relief as Joe Biden was announced president elect of the US. (That said, it was pretty disheartening to watch the race be so close.) It was another sunny day and we enjoyed our usual slow weekend routine of waffles. In the afternoon, the girls and I went to get our flu shots (Peter already had his). While at the clinic, new lockdowns were announced for part of our province, including where we live. It felt a little surreal to watch the live announcement with a nurse in full protective gear while we got our vaccinations. Lockdown went into effect last night at 10pm and will last two weeks. After our shots, the girls and I went to a nearby park and they played together while I sat in the sun and read my book. (Review coming this week.)
It’s disheartening to see our area take this step backward but I didn’t feel the anxiety over it that I expected. Partly this is because just that morning Peter and I had discussed and agreed that our family was going to go back to limiting our contact with friends more severely. We had been keeping our get togethers outdoors but had decided to stop for the next little while. The new restrictions mean some juggling of my work schedule due to a lack of childcare now but Pearl will continue going to school and Peter will continue working. So the difference is fairly minimal, at least right now.
I sat in the park, peeking up at my girls as they played Pirates, and sent a few texts. Checking in with friends, commiserating over the state of the world and quietly celebrating while I watched footage of people dancing in the streets of New York City. Life is complicated. It’s hard but it’s full of beauty.
This morning we sat on our couch and joined in with our church community on-line as we have for the past eight months. I’ve decided to make a short list of goals for these next two weeks of lockdown. A couple of small projects I’d like to complete but mostly some positive routines I want to implement. I’m going to make it a goal to reach out to a friend everyday for the next 2 weeks. Whether it’s a text, a phone call, or a letter, I hope to make that daily connection as well as deliberately spending time each day to pray for that person.
There’s very little I can do right now. I will keep my family as safe as I know how. I will wear my mask. I will bake bread. I will wash my hands. I will keep a journal so that one day we can look back at this and remember what it was like. I will pray. I will pray and pray and pray and do my best to trust God to keep making beauty from ashes.
Karissa Reads Books 
I’m glad that your lockdown should be fairly short, and that it won’t mean major changes for your family’s schedule. I hope things will turn around again soon for your province, and that you all stay healthy in the meantime. Having a list of goals for the coming weeks sounds like a very positive way to manage the time and to keep the end in sight. I feel I have a bit of hopefulness to spare now that the election’s been called with a good result; I’ll keep you in thoughts and prayers these weeks!
Thank you so much! It’s disappointing to see those surging numbers and to have to take this step backwards. We’re fortunate to live outside of the city. We’re still part of the same health region and so we’re included in the measures but our local numbers are slightly better. I’m glad you are feeling more hopeful after the election. I think a lot of the world is feeling that now!
You know I’m always happy to see Justin Beaver, and extra glad he had on his mask, too 🙂
I was talking to book blog friend Lou in England and now I’m surprised to see just how much the U.S. election is affecting other countries. Like, I know that other countries care who our leader is, but (and this is a very American thing to type), as the leaders change in other countries, I’m always thinking, “Oh, okay.” What am I supposed to do about it? There are bad leaders all over the place. I think of book blog friend Gil who lives in the Philippines, ruled by a dictator. This is not to minimize how you feel, but to say that I’m not VERY aware of being in a place that is watched so carefully.
I don’t think the U.S. will do a lock down again. Too many people freaked out and stormed capitals. In Michigan, the FBI discovered over a dozen white terrorists plotting to kidnap the governor and take over the capital. Things have gone INSANE. In my own small county, population 266,931, we have over 12,000 COVID cases and 200 deaths. And we’re all going to work with the only health mandate/restriction being to wear a mask (though there is no penalty not to).
I kind of get it because I don’t follow other country’s elections this closely. I think it’s partly the American hold over media – we get inundated with American election news! In Canada, a lot of our economy is tied up in yours and Trump’s America First policies have definitely had an affect on us. Not to mention climate change and various things he pulled out of there! And then more recently, a lot of Canadians have been eyeing our shared border nervously and seeing how the US’s COVID numbers are going up. Not long ago, Trump was saying that Canada wanted the US-Canada border re-opened and pretty much all of Canada was frantically saying no! It’s weird to be so tied up in another country’s political process but we’re also pretty used to it.
I heard about that case with the governor. Somehow I didn’t connect it with COVID. Do you think there would be regional lockdowns? That’s what we’re seeing in Canada now. Our area of the province is in lockdown but others are not and probably won’t be. I’m so sorry to hear those numbers in your area. My province has had about 18000 cases and 281 deaths but that’s in a population of about 5 million. It must feel hard to feel safe.
Ah, I just asked about why folks in Canada were concerned about the U.S. election in another post. I must have asked you twice! Sorry about that. I know that one thing I’m super concerned about is making a drastic change to help with climate problems. The hurricanes and fires along should scare the pants off of us.
The thing with Michigan is the governor had strict restrictions in the state, including lock down and wearing masks, and many people protested, flooding the state capital, stopping ambulances, all sorts of nonsense. And this is America, so they’re doing it with semi-automatic weapons, right? Legally. But then the plot to kidnap her was investigated by the FBI, so it was bigger than the state.
Yes, we don’t get hurricanes around here but the fires scare me. It’s not like they’ll stop at the border.
We’ve had scattered protests in some cities but I haven’t heard of any particularly violent ones. Our riots over hockey finals were much worse.
Oh! I was also going to say I was surprised to see in the first image with you and the girls (and the dog) just how much your children look like you! I’d never noticed before.
I always love to hear this! I tend to hear a lot that they look like their dad!
It must be just how all three of you are tilting your heads and the shapes of your faces.