When I concentrate on my personal progress, the difficulties over which I have no control will iron themselves out.

That was a sentence in my daily reader yesterday that could not be more apropos for April 2020. I’m always reminded in the Serenity Prayer to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. For sure, I’m not influencing the virus, the political scene, nor the unemployment numbers. What I am doing is keeping one person sane, healthy and cautiously optimistic for whatever comes next. Today, April 16, that takes enormous fortitude and courage. I salute all of you who are working on remaining serene just for these 24 hours. Tomorrow? Well, we’ll deal with that then.

My recipe for today is listening to The Daily’s Sunday Read –  Weird Al Yankovic’s Weirdly Enduring Appeal – recommended by my daughter, making a shredded kale salad recommended by a friend, and taking my daily walk in the park to see the river, what’s blooming and feel somewhat normal, albeit with a mask covering my face and rubber gloves on my hands. I may tackle my desktop keyboard for some deep cleaning, then sew for an hour on the penny rug pillow that’s nearing completion. I’ve ordered black muslin and pillow forms so I can put it all together and set it on my living room slipper chair. And just like that, another day of social distancing brings me/us closer to whatever’s next.

I’m seeing a proliferation of zoom chats and webinars on how to weather this crisis. Since no one has lived through anything like this before, I’m tuning in to see how others are coping. I’d love to hear your success stories for getting through each of your days. Is there anything I can offer you that would be helpful?