Times are...

And time is the only thing!

… okay, times are bad and weird. But this morning, my tulips were like:

Late this afternoon:

red tulips opening, one yellow tulip opened!

Only a matter of time and a sunny afternoon.

Rona Maynard is one of my favorite writers on Substack. In weekly posts, Amazement Seeker never fails to bring art, dogs (especially beloved dogs), and people into a through-line story. This week, she wrote about the time of COVID-19. Being vulnerable to the virus meant danger for everyone.
And yet, some were willing to help when she needed help.
And on January 6th, 2021, some wanted to destroy.

Rona asks us readers, at the end, the following: “How do you remember Covid—destroyer of all good things, unlikely and unwelcome teacher, or somewhere in between? If Normal is not to be, what should replace it? In an age of chaos, what steadies your soul?”

COVID-19 brought me some weird staying-at-home happiness. For one thing, we adopted our beloved Hector and Alex, two black cats, about a month before the shutdown.

Alex and Hector in 2020. Hector has a white whisker, which helped identify him.

I went for walks when we could finally go outside, and my family and I did a lot of hiking in places we’d never been in the greater Kansas City Metropolitan Region.

And when I was called back to work, I was so sad. I couldn’t wait to get home to be with my husband and the cats!

I’m going to answer Rona’s last question now: In this age of chaos, what steadies my soul is reading the writing of Substack authors, including Rona’s work. And Anne Kadet’s. And Michael Estrin’s. Dawn Downey. Amanda Hinton.
Lee Judge. Laurie Stone. All here. All on Substack.

But I have some other suggestions: If you can’t (and I can’t YET.) find it in your heart to blanket the world in compassion, at least blanket a small part of the world. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and imagine all the wild animals finding all the food they need for the night. I don’t know if animals ever feel secure, but they probably get tired. I like to imagine them safe for one night at least.

OR-
Imagine your neighbor who voted for someone you would never in a million years, gets to watch her grandkids, and she has a great time with them playing games, eating fun food that only grandma makes… imagine filling her house with love, as she does for her grandkids.

Or if imagining stuff is not possible, make sure you take time for yourself to listen to music you love and treat yourself tenderly. One day, one hour, one minute, one second at a time.

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This is from one of my favorite movies. The song is called “Truth and Beauty,” and you can hear clocks ticking.

Speaking of "Clocks,” here’s my favorite cover of Coldplay’s “Clocks.”

Thank you for reading and listening to Z Words! If you found yourself here by happy accident or on purpose, I am glad you’re here. Please consider subscribing for free or a modest sum. Or if you want, you can buy me a cup of coffee!

I loved Rona Maynard’s question, and I encourage you to visit her Substack, Amazement Seeker. She asks a lot of good questions!