[NFB-Krafters-Korner] OTSomething to lighten your day……………

[Courtney F. Smith]

‘twas the night before quarantine and all through the town, not a restaurant was open, not a school-bus was found.

hand sanitizers were placed by all doorposts with care, in hopes that Corona would never come there. the children were swinging from the crystal chandeliers,

and the stir-crazy babies were almost in tears. with everyone in health masks and live updates on their screens, we hunkered down and waited for COVID-19.

for into our lives with a sneeze and a cough came a global pandemic and a crash of the stocks. away to the grocery we all flew like a flash, and bought

all the toilet paper for our personal stash. as the moon slowly rose on our fates and our fears, what to my wandering mind should appear? in the absence

of busyness a new life taking form: in the stillness of solitude, in the silence of the storm. in the magic of together and home-bound company, rediscovering

connection in our family. so with the pup in her kennel and the children in their beds, new visions of adventures now danced in my head! the checklists

could wait and the bank accounts would be fine, for we had been given the most sacred gift of time. so I gathered the markers and crayons and paints, I

collected the nerf guns and assembled board games. with a wink and a smile I moved on to schoolwork: math facts and science and vocabulary words. I laughed

as I thought it, in spite of myself, “what if quarantine can heal our emotional health?” if the birds are still singing and if the flowers still bloom,

surely the sunshine can overcome our gloom. if we set aside fear and choose kindness instead, maybe we’ll all begin to realize we have nothing to dread.

I tucked back into bed and smiled up at the moon, for a peace had replaced the impending doom. so take heart and take hope through this curious plight,

and “happy quarantine to all” until we’re allowed to reunite.” —Author unknown