“A clear blue sky often inspires in us good cheer, bringing on a lighter, more carefree day.”
~ The Daily OM

“Pooh?”
“Yeah, Piglet?”
“I’m tired of all this.”
“I am too Piglet. I am too.”

Maybe you’ve seen this meme on social media this week. It’s unlike the positive or entertaining messages I typically share, but to me it so accurately describes my mood and, I suspect, the mood of the country right now.

We are so done with Covid, done with mean-spirited politics, done with nothing but bad news.

We feel the need to look away, to divert our attention anywhere else.

As I pondered our need for diversions this morning, I realized in our family we’ve been getting very practiced at them of late. Distraction has been the number one tool we’ve used with our three super-charged grandsons whenever they get upset while we’re visiting.

“Oh, look, a butterfly!”
“Do you want to count to 10 with Grammie?”
“Let’s sing Itsy Bitsy.”

After hanging in there for so long, as a country, and maybe as a world, we’ve reached the burnout phase. All our initial efforts to step up to meet a crisis, along with the accompanying adrenaline surges, have waned, and exhaustion and fatigue have set in. Yet the experts are telling us it will be months at best before we can expect any kind of normalcy. As I’ve shared in a previous post, it will be a new normal to boot. It may be that the best we can do until then is distract ourselves, and each other. Eventually we will once again wake up eager to start our days, and experience the joy of looking forward to happy events with each other in person.

I’m blessed to count many writers, artists, and photographers as friends. To counteract so much of the ever-present negativity on Facebook, several of my friends have decided to create posts designed to lift us up. They’re sharing messages of hope for the future, nature photos, motivational quotes, and funny memes. I appreciate their offerings, and the intentions behind them, so much.

Despite their best efforts, occasionally throughout the day I still feel my mood sink, usually after watching or reading the national news. At those times, I try to remember that I have a choice. Just as I am teaching my grandsons to do, I can make a purposeful shift in my perception.

And—just like that—I realized a wonderful distraction has been provided for me! All I have to do is open my door and greet one of these glorious days we’ve been having.

Fall is my favorite season in North Carolina. After an especially hot and humid (“soupy,” I’ve been calling it) summer, which continued through most of September, in the last two weeks we’ve finally gotten some relief. The change has been dramatic: cooler temps, lower humidity, light breezes.

Spring is beautiful here, too, with so many flowering trees and bushes, but it’s too rainy for my taste. By contrast, in October and November, we have day after day of “God’s holy sunshine,” as my mother used to call it. The air is crisp. The sky is what we call “Carolina Blue,” a deep, deep color that still amazes me, having grown up outside of Philadelphia, with its skies gray so much of the year. This week we’ve had several days without a single cloud in the sky.

There is an easement between the end of our back yard and the elementary school which sits directly behind us. We have a small forest—probably 100 feet deep—of tall pines and oaks and shiny magnolia trees. This morning I watched a few squirrels playing tag in the woods. Several times a week we’re visited by a herd of deer. Once, a particularly brave female approached me as I was sitting on the back porch. I talked to her in a soft voice, and she came even closer for a few, magical moments.

We had the exterior of our house painted a light sage green few weeks ago, so I treated myself to some new porch decorations. I love the colors of Autumn—the deep reds, vibrant oranges, and golden yellows. Our leaves are just beginning to turn. This year, we’re told, the colors will be even more vibrant than usual because of all the rain we had in the summer.

No matter how much the fall colors perk me up, nothing compares to the taste of pumpkin! It’s become the butt of jokes in recent years because of the number of pumpkin-flavored products being marketed. On a fun date with my husband to Wegmans, I splurged on a pumpkin roll and then—call me crazy—slipped some Pumpkin Spice Cheerios into our cart.

As if that weren’t enough excitement, this morning I came across this pumpkin donut recipe! The site that posted it, Little Passports, offers a subscription service for toddlers and school-aged kids, and sends emails with bonus activities such as recipes. Since our grandsons live out of state, the monthly educational kits on themes such as “global adventures” are one way we can help our Cali kids amuse their kids. I don’t have the donut pan the recipe mentions, but it looks like I’m about to get one! (I’m not letting the kids have all the fun, after all.)

How do you plan to distract yourself this week?

Affectionately,

Elaine 

p.s. I failed to find the attribution for the meme I mentioned. There are several unofficial Pooh meme sites on Facebook, if you’re curious.