Photo Challenge: Your World

PJ’s prompt for April is Your World. It goes without saying everyone’s world has been turned upside-down with COVID-19. Perhaps we all were in need of a hard reset for life. It certainly has provided opportunities to look inward at ourselves as well as focusing on priorities closer to home. But, my heart really goes out to those who have lost jobs and lost loved ones during this crisis.

My world didn’t drastically change much. Entrepreneur and I work from home so the stay-home order wasn’t much of a transition. We don’t have wee ones in the house constantly, so homeschooling wasn’t an issue. Aside from dinners out in restaurants and traveling, our schedule was fairly normal, with the exceptions of friends and family gatherings. We live in a neighborhood that is very conducive to walking and neighbors social distance with two acres between each other. It’s a good thing I like my home and yard or I might be going stir crazy now.

My World 1
Because we limited our errands and social appointments this month, Cabo believed we were available to play pretty much 24/7. This shot is not staged. He literally brought me all these toys within 10 minutes of me saying good morning to him.

My World 2
When we do venture out into the community, we’re extra cautious. I snapped this from the car when Entrepreneur was inside our local post office branch. Normally, four to five people wait in line inside the door, but now everyone waits outside until it’s their turn.

My World 3
One never knows what surprises are in store when walking in the neighborhood. Some people send encouraging, inspirational messages at the end of their driveways for passer-bys.

Some of us who attend the same church decided we wanted to celebrate Easter with our own visual display of faith since we couldn’t be together. Each of us made crosses to put in our yards/garden as symbols of the Resurrection. I think this will become an annual tradition.

My World 4
Ooops. Were we suppose to social distance from grandchildren? Yeah, well, we threw caution to the wind and let the grand girls come over when Mama had to go to her office for the day. Zooming with classmates and teachers is the norm now. The Tween was practicing social distancing from everyone by being in “her room,” which was originally her Mama’s room when she was that age. The kindergartener even knows how to Zoom with her class. The Kindergarten teachers put together a Facebook page and are providing story times and other teaching videos to keep the kiddos connected to learning. I’m amazed at all the online resources available for students to keep learning.

My World 5
Probably one of the most difficult aspects is not being able to attend our place of worship in person now. Fortunately, our church embraces technology and has offered the option of online worship for more than a year. I call it “jammie church.” They also provide numerous resources in the way of podcasts, Zoom bible studies, e-books and daily email devotionals to keep our focus where it should be during this time. If you are in need of spiritual or mental support, you might find these resources helpful:
https://info.thecrossingchurch.com/coronavirus.

No doubt, despite being virtually connected, our worlds got significantly smaller this month in many ways. We are not designed to be socially isolated for long periods of time. We were made for human interaction and relationships so it’s my prayer this will be behind us soon. Not to minimize the severity of the pandemic, but perhaps some good things are happening during this time. Perhaps this is a time for self-reflection and a reset of priorities of what is truly important in life. I wrote a post with my thoughts about that HERE. Check out A ‘lil HooHaa to find out what happened in others’ worlds this month.