Facing Challenges

Good Morning, Lovelies! It won't be "morning" for very much longer, and honestly I was a little disappointed NOT to wake up to rain, which I was looking forward to. But at least it IS sunny! There's nothing wrong with sun. And the rain is still in the forecast; it's just been postponed. So let me sing the praises of another favorite institution I've heretofore taken for granted: The United States Postal Service and UPS. Man, I would be in such a STATE without them! Since the lockdown began, I have been getting a meal service delivered that accounts for a large part of my diet--I look forward to it eagerly every week! And I'm positive I'm not the only one. Previous methods of getting groceries and medicine have pretty much all failed me. Getting on a grocery delivery list takes all day if it happens at all, and it costs much more than it's really worth these days. So I've been exploring other options, and they are out there! A wide variety thanks to their owners' and managers' ingenuity! The Panera Bread restaurant chain near me is actually delivering groceries in addition to their delicious food. And of course there are still delivery services like Door Dash and Grubhub that feed my cravings. The only trouble is most of those delivery people themselves don't QUITE grasp the concept of "contactless delivery"--but I've overcome that challenge as well! I write instructions on copy paper and hold them up to the window for the delivery people who are clearly daunted by the idea of leaving food in front of an apartment building. And I have had the help of some inordinately generous friends who want to see me through this as much as they themselves want to get there! Yes, we've all had to surmount challenges we never anticipated. I even refuse to touch the buttons in the elevator with my bare fingers. I cover them up with my sleeve or the hem of my shirt and then punch the floor number. The way I see it, I can't be too careful. None of us can. Especially with a disability that's already a strike against us in this fight against an invisible foe. The thing that brings me back around to a positive outlook if I ever "get gloomy" about our current situation is this: if I can do it, it can't be that hard! There must be those who are up to challenges FAR more daunting than any I face. And with that encouragement plus the knowledge that I've already managed thus far, I'm "back to happy" so to speak. And I think that might be one of the greatest challenges--avoiding despair in a very dark time. Or else, it WOULD be dark--if I couldn't see the beauty in how many ways people are helping each other, and how many different ways people are raising spirits and raising each other's hopes online (yay YouTube!). But we'll see the other side. I know we will. The biggest challenge will just be taking as many people with us as we possibly can:)