By week four of solitary confinement, I was a bit blue and weepy. It was Holy Week, which is always a dark time for me, I couldn't take solace in nice, long walks to clear my head and stretch my legs. After a couple of fraught outdoor walking ventures where no one was abiding by the distance rules, the only outdoor forays I've made are to dump trash or pick up mail. The feeling of being "contained" was getting to me.
My mental health was being saved by social media, Zoom, and spending an hour or two in the evening on my tiny balcony reading or listening to an audiobook. But by this point in the quarantine, I'd come to realize there were important things that I take for granted during normal times that are missing now - mainly, actual human contact and flowers.
On Saturday, the day before Easter,daughter invited me over to spend some safely-distanced time together and to watch the kids hunt for Easter eggs. So I broke out of confinement - the first time since March 20 - and headed over to see my family. It proved to be a significant mood-changer.
How can a dark mood not lighten when two kids come running out joyously, lovingly calling your name (albeit, stopping well away to maintain safe-distancing)? And waiting for me in the middle of the front yard was a big pot of red geraniums (my favorite), a pot of Easter lilies, and an Easter bucket full of goodies - candy, a cute face mask with colorful butterflies, and some much needed Beautycounter shampoo, lotion, and makeup.
But the best things in my bucket of fun were handmade cards from the kids. Charlotte's was colorful with drawings and fancy lettering. Liam's was on notebook paper, a sweet, almost formal, letter with a striped Easter egg drawing in red and purple. ("Because I know red is your favorite color, GrandMary.") I'll have these long after the candy is eaten and the shampoo used up. Things were definitely looking brighter.While daughter and son-in-law hid the eggs in the backyard, I sat - in a chair safely away from the kids - talking with the kids and watching the scamper and wrestle in the yard.
And then the race was on as the big hunt began. Around the yard, behind the garage, tucked in corners and under bushes - we kept an eye out to ensure all the little plastic treasures were gathered. After ten minutes or so, it was determined that the eggs had been collected, and the time had come to spread everything out on the lawn to see what they held inside (yes, candy - but what kind?). Excitement, sugar - perfect day-before-Easter combination.
The day was beautiful - sunny, not too hot - so we all sat outside and caught up with each other. Stories were shared - like the times daughter had face-planted into gravel and concrete as a child Charlotte's age, shared because C had fallen off her scooter and skinned her nose and forehead. (Lesson: protect the face!) We talked about the coronavirus and having to stay at home, and how during another pandemic scare, our Aunt Nell had been quarantined for polio in Grady Hospital when she was a child.We talked about daughter's bout with COVID-19 and her recovery. Hard and scary stuff, and she was glad to be on the other side of it. We talked about what the quarantine had meant for them as a family, with all of them home from school and work day in, day out. Projects had been tackled and completed. The kitchen put to good use and everyone's cooking abilities expanded. With much appreciation for their new home and the privileges they enjoy, they understood that the quarantine was an historic time, and for them, filled with mostly good memories at this point.
For me, it only took one afternoon to clear away the blues and feeling of isolation. When I look out onto my balcony and see the red geraniums and white lilies, my heart gets lighter, because I feel so loved by the ones who gave them to me. That's what I call Flower Power.
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