Time-Spending

There's certainly more than the usual amount of time to be spent, these days, I'd say.

Still not enough time to get everything done, however. I suppose that's because I'm still putting in a full week at work, albeit from my desk at home. Like most people, I suspect, working from home means I save time by not commuting, not getting dressed up, etc. Which is more than compensated for by the time I spend making my own lunch and being distracted by unsettling news from all over. Some days my concentration is excellent, even better than it was in the office on my best day. Other days I feel more like I'm waiting for the biggest shoe ever to finally drop.

In Florida we don't think the virus has peaked yet. That's definitely unsettling.

Meanwhile, life rolls on. I've had some groceries delivered, and chatted with friends by phone and video call, and done a lot of cooking and some gardening. The New York Times hosts a tile matching game for free on their website, and I've discovered how soothing it is to play a few rounds of that every day.

Yesterday I made a vegetable run to the open-air, no-conversation, no-touch farmer's stand. I usually buy my vegetables at the Friday Night Farmers Market, which gives me a chance to browse and sometimes pick up a recipe recommendation from the farmer. This time we spoke through a cracked window on the passenger side of the car and the vegetables were packed and loaded into the back hatch. I leaned across the passenger seat to give him the money, both of  us careful not to touch hands in the transfer. I was wearing a mask. I tipped him. Our conversation was shorter but our eye contact -- being all we had left -- was stronger.

Mother Nature's bounty continues and I am thankful for that, as well as for the opportunity keep my friend's business alive. There was a small line of cars behind me, each of us grateful and craving a few words of conversation, no doubt.

It felt nice to get out of the house and go for a little drive. But I have to admit that removing the temptation to Go and Do has actually been good for me. I know I am incredibly lucky to be treating this as an opportunity for self-improvement instead of a desperate challenge to my survival. But there it is.

I hope I will continue to have the chance to be a better person, a better friend, a better neighbor, and a better citizen. I hope I remember to keep that extra eye contact, come what may.

Now if I could just manage to catch up on those book reviews. While there's still time.