Gratitude 2020

Gary, all suited up to check the mail 

   I'm late. Normally, I write my annual Gratitude blog post in January. I'm not sure why that didn't happen this year, but maybe now, in May of Covid-19 Pandemic 2020, it is the perfect time to reflect on all that I am grateful for.

Our balcony was so pretty covered in snow this winter

  Today, we spend all of our time inside our condo, with occasional visits to our balcony for some fresh air and a cup of tea. I'm so grateful for our balcony.

Empty streets in New York City

   So much has changed. The streets of New York City look like a ghost town as everyone isolates and works from their homes - or doesn't work at all. I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to visit New York before the world shut down. It was an exciting and vibrant city.

A new hobby, indoor aerogardening!

   A lack of available delivery openings meant no more grocery deliveries. I miss our PeaPod drivers and their friendly smiles. A trip to the grocery store revealed another problem - a lack of toilet paper, flour, cocoa, and a half empty produce department. I'm so grateful for the grocery stock clerks and cashiers at Stop & Shop who are truly on the front lines, exposing themselves to this virus so the rest of us can buy groceries. 

   I'm so grateful I am able to afford to buy groceries. The long lines at food banks are painful to see. I'm so grateful the Connecticut Food Bank provides a way to help others get the food they need to maintain their health.

 I'm so grateful to Ocean State Job Lot for automatically adding on a 2% surcharge to provide their employees with hazard pay, and to their cashiers for asking me if I'd like to donate to first responders by rounding up my bill. Both are things I hadn't considered while searching for my Bob's Red Mill whole grains, some new scarves to use as masks, and for some lettuce seeds. 

   I'm so grateful for a new hobby. Lack of produce led to the need for a solution as to how to grow lettuce from the third floor of a high-rise condo building. The solution - an Aerogarden. I liked the first one so well I bought a second one! I'm so grateful to the mail carriers who delivered these packages and our daily mail.

A brand new spring morning

   I'm so grateful our new neighbors decided to cut down some dead trees. We worried the wind would cause the trees to fall on their roof this year. Removal of the trees also opened up our view of Trading Cove. I always wanted a view of the water. I'm so grateful for this view each and every day. I sit on my balcony, with my cup of tea, wrapped in a blanket some mornings, and enjoy the fresh air, the birds singing, the cows mooing, the clouds floating by, and the new growth of spring.

My colorful new hat hides my Covid-19 un-hairstyle

  I'm so grateful our families are healthy and Covid free. I'm so grateful to all the doctors, nurses, maintenance personnel, and other health care workers for caring for those who have contracted the virus. I'm so grateful to all the police, fire fighters, and ambulance drivers who respond to emergencies.  I'm so grateful to all the farm workers, packers, and truck drivers who keep our food supply system running.  I'm so grateful for social security and medicare which has made retirement possible. I'm so grateful for a check from the federal government which made it possible to pay my medical bills. 

   I'm so grateful to all who keep the world running while I sit on my balcony and enjoy the view. You are treasures to the world - every one of you!

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