Dear Reader:

With Theodosia the Gardening Toad getting the front door place of honor this Easter (see yesterday’s title picture)…the old garden bunny is getting the back door for his “hang-out“place…I decorated the back door yesterday with the palm frond Michele gave me and then I brought Palmer the Bunny from the garage (after cleaning him up) and placed him on the backdrop palms ….thus his new name!

I also cleaned up Henny Penny and perched her back on the B&B side dining table.

A stem that broke off cloned “Little Big Red” was taken back to Vickie’s house a few months ago… Vickie surprised me with it (a couple of weeks ago) now just in time to see it  blooming on the front porch too…another member of “Big Red’s” cloned cuttings family…”He” would have been so proud! 🙂

The rest of the time yesterday I pulled weeds, watered some hanging baskets…and just enjoyed the beauty of nature around me. A few strong azaleas are still trying to display their late arrivals and the old-fashioned long-stemmed sunflower opened up from its bud (as seen Monday.)

My new pink superbells hanging basket looks so pretty outside my office window while working on the blog post.

Everything you just saw above…keeps me happy and content… strolling along rather smoothly on this momentary pandemic plateau. It is when I stop and come inside to rest and grab a bite to eat that my spirits sometimes get bogged down. The most burning question prevails over all the others… concerning the pandemic…and that is “When is it going to end?”

If I start thinking too much about the future and what might or might not be possible to regain in my hopeful time frame…things like physically hugging loved ones again (Oh how I miss that…touch is such an important part of our lives, a normal school year, my Clemson Tigers and all collegiate football games…for that matter…all sports period…from the little ones to the national leagues, gatherings of all kinds, eating out with friends, just riding in a car with friends again…the list could go on and on.

In other words…I find myself morphing back to the frustrated middle child that I was… stuck in the back seat of the car (squished in between my two brothers) yelling “Are we there yet?”

Last Sunday…our wonderful pastor, Jeff Kackley, reflected on some of his personal observations and reflections, since the home quarantine began.

” If we all knew how and when this was all going to end, we might feel differently about this time that we are in right now. – We might enjoy it a little more.

Of course, a lot of people are sick, many are dying, lots of people are risking their lives to help others, a lot of people are out of work, a lot of businesses are going under, people are missing out on “once in a lifetime” milestone events; and so, maybe then again, in looking back, we might not enjoy this time any more than we are or possibly can – right now.

The fact is that we can’t and don’t know how and when this is all going to end. And so, it is quite natural for us to feel whatever it is that we are feeling right now – we need not feel differently.”

He went on to say that he felt oppressed right not…yet in reality he knew it was really more of a feeling of suppression than oppression. There is a difference between suppression and oppression…a very important one actually. (excerpt from Palm Sunday sermon)

“Oppressed is what the ancient Israelites were under Roman rule.

They had some freedom under the Romans, but they didn’t have rights. Only Roman citizens had rights. – They had some power and authority under the Romans, but it was just that – under the power and authority of Rome, of King Herod and Pilate, and the Roman legions, all the way up to the Emperor himself.

The whole empire was built on hierarchy – on shame and honor – on “Pax Romana” the peace of Rome – the peace that is felt and received – given…………only after one had been conquered.

Such a “peace” is long-lasting – almost infinite – eternal! It never seems to go away. Day after day it is in your face, – a constant reminder that things are never going to get better; they’re never going to end!”

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

‘Oppress‘ is usually something that people do to other people. For example, a dictator, an authoritarian government, or an occupying army might oppress ordinary citizens, or a conservative religion might oppress women.

‘Suppress’ is usually used with things: a repressive government might suppress dissent, information, or freedom of speech.

Still it is easy to see why most people today want to use these two terms interchangeably in this pandemic… because it is hard to separate our personal (human) feelings and oppressive reactions from suppressive actions (that touch us personally) like: home quarantine, no large gatherings, closed businesses, closed schools and colleges, stoppage of athletic events, no live entertainment, etc.

Living in the moment is harder than we expected isn’t it? Humans just can’t click their minds off like a computer or television…and that is when we get “bogged” down emotionally and perhaps even spiritually…silently praying and asking God “Are we there yet?”

I think we already know the answer…just like we did (when as children we asked it over repeatedly on long trips)…. Mother’s (gritted teeth) answer was always “No…we aren’t there yet…and asking that question over and over isn’t going to get us there any faster!” 

I felt better yesterday when Tommy and Kaitlyn sent me this picture of the plexiglass “barrier” placed between them and clients during real estate closings. (Tommy’s dad was concerned about them and constructed it.) Everything helps…along with lots of prayers!

I received the most adorable family photos from Ambika yesterday visually updating her beautiful family! Thank you Ambika!

So until tomorrow…”Mothers Knows Best” (at least in my family 🙂

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*** Working from home now?…Do the conversations below sound familiar?