My husband asked me to come to our front mudroom door this morning to show me some birds in the trees and bushes near the entrance to our home. He wanted to show me (for the 3rd time this morning ? ) another new species of bird he has never seen before. My husband is an avid nature watcher and I also call him my "Dr. Doolittle" since birds, animals, every cat in the neighborhood, etc. flock to his side when he's outdoors doing yard work. He pointed out to me that he hasn't seen some of the variety of birds we had today before and he's noticed a lot more of them lately for this time of year.
I'm thinking that because of the lack of cars and pollution due to everyone staying home that nature is healing and returning to it's former self. It's just beautiful!??️ ?
@triciact Oh Trich, how beautiful. Here is the most beautiful of the lock down songs I've heard. There is debth in so many ways in these kids and their voices and of course, Leonard Cohen's song, Hallelujah. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y51WWrYodI
Thank you for sharing that link to the beautiful choir. I always love that song, but that gave me goosebumps! ? ❤️
This was beautiful. Thank you!!! The young woman that was the lead singer has an incredible voice!
It reminded me of the virtual choir that Eric Whiteacre did a few years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs
Okay, non COVID but good for big laughs of the boomer generation. SNL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvT_gqs5ETk
That was just great! Reminded me so much of conversations my mom and dad were having during my care giving decade. It was hilariously entertaining between them.
Unfortunately i can tell my husband and i already have moments that get pretty close to similar exchanges!
???
"We must think collectively as a human hive, each of us playing an essential role..."
Marcelo Gleiser wrote an opinion Article posted on CNN that the coronavirus will change us as a species.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/26/opinions/covid-19-will-change-us-as-a-species-gleiser/index.html
Many of you know of Oprah and Deepak and their free 21 Day Meditations programs which have a different theme and happen 3 times a year. Well, even though they recently completed one just a few weeks ago they have now added another which just began a 2 days ago. It is called "Hope In Uncertain Times". I think they may have originally done this after Trump took office, I am unsure however. It is a very good one and we all can use a little hope in our lives. Again, it is free. If you need some some and less fear in your life right now, it may be a good fit for you.
That version of the song is beautiful. It was powerful with the images the children on the choir risers too.
A lung doctor at NYC's top hospital which is now exclusively a COVID hospital provides really helpful information on how you can protect yourself from COVID 19 and he dispels many of our fears which is empowering. Please watch -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doR0Ejy4eo0. This man works in the ICU with the sickest patients. So much of our fear is what we don't know about how we can get it. He breaks it down for us. Some key points:
1. The vast majority get the disease from sustained contact with someone who has the disease.
2. If you are outside, just stay 6 feet away from people and you should be fine.
3. The best thing to prevent the disease is don't touch your face with your hands, and know where your hands are. The only usefulness of a mask is that it prevents you from touching your face.
4. If someone in your household gets the disease, you can keep from getting it if you take the precautions. (watch the video). But if there is a vulnerable person (elderly or immune compromised) in your home, then you have to isolate them from the sick person.
Well, I've just returned from the front lines and I can tell you firsthand that our medical workers are glorious lightworkers themselves. My daughter and I live in Manhattan. I am a triple high risk and have remained secluded at home for weeks. Unfortunately my college age daughter began complaining of intense abdominal pain. She is quite stoical so when she complains I pay attention. After 3 days the pain was getting worse and I was losing sleep, frantically doing research. I figured it was appendicitis. This past Mon. AM I had a phone conference with our Pediatric nurse, then a Teleconference with our Pediatrician. Both thought she showed classic symptoms of Appendicitis and I was told to get her to a hospital ER pronto before it burst. What does one do when confronted with a diagnosis like that and they are your beloved child???...You suit up and you GO....despite a crowded city hospital being the LAST place on earth you want to go...I called our closest friends and family and implored them to take care of her after I die...she is not yet 20, an only child and I am a single mother. We are very close. I was beyond petrified for both of us but what choice did I have? We were directed to the Pediatric ER via connections by our Pediatrician. It was close to empty vs. the main ER which was a chaotic mess. The entire hospital was filled to capacity and they have set up triage outside in the park under tents due to overwhelming demand by incoming Covid-19 patients. Bottom line: The doctors in ER also thought she had classic Appendicitis, we expected her to have surgery that night...the Ultrasound was inconclusive but when the CAT scan results came back they surprisingly showed no Appendicitis but rather a common (although painful) benign cyst on her ovary which will disappear on it's own. We were all dumbfounded. We are home now, immensely thankful ...but now we have to wait up to 2 weeks to see if we are infected. But I am writing now to tell you that the medical staff at this crowded and over stressed Manhattan hospital are all incredible lightworkers themselves: Upbeat, joking, bravely facing the possibility of their own infection and death they nevertheless are courageously helping the sick and dying each and every day. What glorious heroes. I told each one that. I am in total awe. They should all be given fat pensions and benefits after this is over...never mind the corporate bailouts. So this is our story. I wanted to share it with all of you. I wanted to report to you from the front lines. I am deeply, deeply in awe at what I witnessed on Monday. Cynicism and pessimism is fashionable and prevalent today...but make no mistake about it: We have MANY true angels living amongst us. My daughter and I met many today.
Thank you for sharing your incredible journey of you and your daughter with us. I could feel your worry, fear and love in the words you have so beautifully written. A mother's love is everything.
What points of light our medical community truly are and such brave beautiful souls. You have reminded us that we have a choice in how we treat others during this time and well, all times actually. You have reminded us all that we can be kind, loving and compassionate, even in the face of fear and apocalyptic conditions.
May your daughter heal quickly. May you both stay healthy and well, physically and mentally. Keep envisioning both of you happy and healthy at the end of all of this. You can both get there together and believing it is important. Please continue to let us know how you are doing. I am seeing you both together wrapped in love, a huge white heart of light rotates around you both.
More fun & laughs from lock-down in Kent, UK where a family of four rewrote the words and performs COVID lockdown Les Miserables. Too funny! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdcS0Nbo7Ng&feature=youtu.be
Thank you so much for your kind words. What most struck me was the yawning enormity between President Bone Spurs ( hiding behind his lies and bluster, his endless ego demands, his on-going incompetence/criminality, a slave to the public’s perception of him and his daily ratings) vs. the army of quiet, selfless, self-sacrificing medical staff we saw yesterday just getting on with it expecting no fanfare nor thanks for their selfless acts of giving. One, once again, realizes how utterly bankrupt President Bone Spurs is, a squirming mass of insecurities and greed, a black hole utterly bereft of any semblance of honor, decency or human compassion. Yet he is our POTUS and represents our country to the world... very hard to reconcile this fact....still the courage we witnessed yesterday will not be forgotten anytime soon.
Isabelle, thank you for sharing your ordeal and your gratitude to the medical workers. I am so happy you are your dear daughter are safe and well. I read your account with apprehension and then well was just so relieved for you. Your love and gratitude radiated out to us in such a beautiful way.
This video of a NYC pulmonologist at Weill Cornell Hospital shows the exhausted doctor nearly breaking down but determined to give us all relief from fear. He has taken time off from his service to explain how to protect our families from the virus. Telling people he's emotional not because he's upset but because he's so glad that he can show people how not to be afraid of each other during this crisis was so heartwarming.
Thank you for sharing the video with the pulmonologist. It helped me relax and feel more at ease. That is a welcome balm to my nerves right now. I think the more people who see that the better!
Here is a great story I wanted to share.
This evening, our State implemented a statewide stay at home order instead of a modified patchwork of "please stay at home" nonsense confusion. The school that my daughter teaches at had planned on doing a car parade Wednesday throughout the school neighborhood to brighten the kids spirits. Many schools across the country have done this in recent weeks. Well, with this new order, they needed to push up this car parade by a day.
This morning, my youngest daughter drove her sister to the school parking lot and lined up with the other cars for the parade. This allowed my oldest daughter to wave at the kids who lined up on the sidewalks and in their yards (social distancing while doing so). They were so excited to see their teachers. Some wore costumes, others moved to different locations to keep seeing the parade go by. My daughter said even elderly people with no children came out to watch the teachers waving to the kids. Some cars had music, some were decorated and some held encouraging posters like my daughter. The principal rode her bicycle so she could be visible to every student. Students would cheer their teachers and yell out to them with happiness.
Students will not be back at school this year and will complete work packets and in some cases online assignments if they have internet access. This was a bright spot during a stressful time for these kids. I am grateful both my girls could experience the moment together. In less than 9 months, my eldest has returned home from getting her master's degree from a British University, started her first year as a music educator and is finishing that first year teaching online during a pandemic.
Wow!
More laughs from Chris Mann, the very same who gave us the hilarious My Corona. This is an Adele parody for those single people isolating at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5azNpTwVk8&feature=youtu.be