This story originally appeared in the May/June 2020 issue of Inspired Home magazine.
As you read this, we’re either still in or have just come out of an unprecedented global pandemic. Think about that for a minute. What other event in our planet’s entire history has literally brought the entire world together and absolutely isolated everyone simultaneously? Not every country fought in either of the World Wars and, while there have been other isolating pandemics, we didn’t have the benefit of technology to connect to people anywhere on the planet like we do today.
So, what has happened because of this pandemic? There’s been a run on, of all things, yeast. People are endeavoring to bake more at home—something not done by the masses in decades. Families are eating dinner together with much more regularity. People are playing board games, doing puzzles, taking up knitting, planning vegetable gardens. A woman in North Dakota started a hashtag #AWorldofHearts and people across the globe are decorating their front windows, hospital hallway windows, business windows and more with incredible heart designs meant to remind us all that we are not alone, despite how isolated we all are.
In short, we’re coming together, despite being asked to stay apart, in beautiful and remarkable ways. And more importantly, in ways that we would likely not have ever considered doing without the demand of a worldwide shutdown.
Is there fear and uncertainty around this time? Absolutely. There’s no question that the divide between the haves and the have nots is likely to grow in alarming ways. Independent restaurants, shops and breweries as well as the nonprofit sector are taking an enormous hit. Hospitals are overwhelmed. And all around the world, people are mourning the loss of loved ones who contracted Covid-19 and lost their battle with it.
But you know what I did, that I never would’ve done without this overarching dictum to stay inside? My husband and I Facetimed our son in Los Angeles while baking the same scones recipe, one of our favorites from his childhood, and making and eating brunch together one Sunday. We were face to face for nearly two hours, and we loved every minute of it. I watched my son open up a jar of peach jam I made last summer and brought with me when I visited last. We laughed about a funny detail in the recipe that we used to giggle over when he was little and were making them together in one kitchen. He set his table, and we set ours, and we enjoyed Sunday brunch, like we always did when he lived at home. And for those two hours, I forgot about the uncertainty and the distance, and I loved having brunch with my two favorite men.
Yes, this is a scary, uncertain time, but talk about the world choosing to make some fabulous lemon aid from some pretty epic lemons. Look to the good—it’s always there.
