Most importantly, I want to start off by saying I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! All of us are taking on new social normals in order to protect eachother and ourselves from the invisible COVID-19 enemy. Our social and professional interactions have completely changed. We’ve become experts at virtual meetings and cocktails. We’ve adjusted to centering all of our activity around our individual homes. It’s been a time of slowing down, more time and conversation with our loved ones and adjusting to a new way of life. I truly believe it’s been a mentally challenging time for all of us. However, our primary focus is to stay healthy and keep those around us healthy.
This time in our lives has also given people a moment to reflect and ask ourselves how we can best utilize this new norm we are living in. For some it’s given time to focus on a new interest that we might’ve put to the waste side telling ourselves we just don’t have the time for it. Well now we do. I for one decided I am going to spend more time reading and believe it or not gardening. Yes..gardening!
I’ve decided to make my cutting garden my baby project for the season. The cutting garden was planted by the prior owner and was beautiful, but over the years it was getting a bit overgrown and plants were not coming up as they usually did. Most importantly, “things” were growing that I had no idea if they were weeds that need to be yanked out or plants I should be nurturing and admiring! So I rolled up my sleeves, got my gardening gloves on and got to work. i decided to spend a couple of hours each day on it. I started by weeding it out. To my surprise, I found some beautiful plants that were being covered by these nasty weeds. All of a sudden the garden was becoming my canvas.
I decided to take two rows and devote them to growing my own vegetables. An experiment…I planted tomatoes, peppers and kale to name a few. I decided to add additional flowering plants to the remaining rows. Still part of the same experiment. The time spent in this garden proves to be the most peaceful part of my day. No iPhone, no Iwatch and no video chats. Just me being outside with my new plant friends. Yes..friends! Now that the hard work is completed, I go out daily to check on its’ progress and can’t believe how it changes from day to day. It truly has become a daily sanctuary for me, even if only for a few minutes.
I encourage all of you, if you haven’t already, to pick one new interest/hobby and try to focus on it during this time. I promise you’ll enjoy it and definitely feel a sense of satisfaction and pride in its completion!
Stay well!