Breathe and Smile!

As I get used to my “New Normal,” I cannot help but realize how much I have taken for granted in my life. The hug from a friend, dinner with my best friends and their families, walking next to a stranger in the grocery store while mindlessly looking at items on the shelves, toilet paper.

While the world slows down and we are forced to change the very way we interact with others -gloves and masks and “social distancing”- let me take a moment and breathe. That deep cleansing breathing that I have taken for granted every second of my life.

What happens when we stop and just breathe? We slow down, our heart rate slows down, our emotions slow down and we have the chance to reflect on what is important in our life. I realize just how lucky we are to be able to take that deep breath because so many of us are now fighting for that ability.

As I get used to my “new normal” I am so blessed and humbled by the acts of kindness I see amongst the turmoil for sure. During this time it can be so easy to get sucked into the fear and anger around us as well. I am a prime example of that as my husband can attest! My hope is that our “New Normal” will only be temporary and that all will go back to my old normal soon, but deep down I know THIS will change not just the country I happen to live in, but also the world.

Perhaps now would be a good time to declare a worldwide truce, a pause from all the wars going on in the world to fight an enemy we cannot see -but all have in common.

Yesterday was our anniversary. We decided to stay home and laughed about our choice. I insisted on a no-flower-no-card celebration, which we also used to joke about all day long. We ordered in to eat out safely at home, and it was delicious. For a moment I forgot the food was left in front of our door, and I picked it up wearing gloves, protecting myself.

Some things I can’t change and while I take a deep breathe I promise myself (again) to take it one day at a time. I can breathe, I am blessed!