Over the last few weeks, people have been showing numerous acts of kindness through these challenging times. From stocking up food banks to local artists creating paintings for healthcare workers to mask-makers buffering the medical community’s tight supplies. A lot of people are distracting themselves from the anxiety of the unknown by shifting their focus towards helping others.
Although it might be too early; South Carolina has decided to open their beaches and retail stores next week. People out of state still can’t enter, so hopefully with that limitation along with most people still staying at home – the number of cases won’t spike back up. Opening the economy back up will help struggling small businesses and their employees get back to making a living to support their families. The stimulus checks or any other government financial support won’t last long.
At my house, we’re still focused on painting all the rooms in the house. We have paint and supplies spread across rooms and available to anyone bored who wants to grab a brush or a roller. All of our food has been delivered from local farms, wineries, and Amazon – leaving out the house hasn’t been necessary except for walks around the neighborhood.
We’ve adjusted to using what we have available versus going out to get what we need throughout the week. This time has really shown how resourceful we can be with the supplies we have on hand. I like the way our family has been making things from scratch and learning new skills. My daughter taught herself how to bake, my husband taught himself how to use a smoker, and my son and I enjoy all of the homemade food coming our way.
We’ve had a few days of cold temperatures, so it’s still too soon to transplant our garden outdoors. Hoping for more consistent weather next week to move the plants out. The garden will reduce our dependence on frozen produce and help us supplement meat more; if the production is reduced like they’ve been saying on the local news.
Nothing will be back to normal as we knew it before the pandemic but in some ways – I’m okay with that. Some changes are for the best and I hope they stay. Forcing ourselves to be more self-sustainable has been a game changer because we’re seeing how much we really didn’t need things that we thought were mandatory, like going to the grocery store throughout the week or consistently driving back and forth to the city for things that could be delivered.
Let’s see how South Carolina does with reopening beaches and retail stores. North Carolina is watching and will probably follow along if the virus case count doesn’t change dramatically. If everything goes well, people will slowly be able to get back to work and build our communities back up.
