Your Stories: Finally time to work on that lemonade recipe

The coronavirus is changing all of our lives in big ways and small ones. We’d like to hear how it’s affecting yours. What are your stories? We’d like to print as many as we have room for. Send them to Publisher Mike Hrycko at mhrycko@thedailyworld.com.

By Betsy Seidel

Hoquiam

During this pandemic, I believe a positive attitude can make all of the difference as we negotiate this new way of living. Yes, it is a total bummer that school is cancelled for the rest of the school year (I miss the Wishkah kids where I substitute teach) and that we need to stay six feet away from anyone we don’t live with, but there are activities that can fill my days.

Instead of having a pity party, I’ve been rejoicing in doing things I didn’t have the time or make the time to do pre-pandemic. Our study is now clear of boxes on the floor and piles on horizontal surfaces. My camel collection is happy to not have a layer of dust covering it! I cleaned our utility room to make space for our two new kittens we adopted from PAWS the beginning of March. Enzo and Shelby live up to their namesakes as they zoom around inside our home. Their antics and endless play bring much joy to my husband Bob and me.

Bob and I have had a special time going down “Memory Lane” looking at old photo albums. So far we’ve tackled the 1970’s and 1980’s photos; I’m getting rid of those photos that are poor quality and the endless mountain/sunset scenes that don’t mean as much now that we can’t remember where we were! I marvel at how many poor photos I paid 40 cents each back then; half of my teacher’s salary must have gone to Photo Lab! I’ve mailed extra photos of our family and friends to them, so they too can get a kick out of the good old times.

We both miss going to the YMCA, but Bob and I have truly enjoyed being outdoors walking or bicycling miles each day. I had never appreciated the delightful paved and gravel trails that are in Grays Harbor. It’s been fun exploring them and marveling at the beauty of the greenery we are blessed to be surrounded with in our county. A bonus of all this exercise is spending quality time with Bob while getting healthier!

I’m sad that there are fewer opportunities to volunteer, but we are lucky that Bob and I can still do Crime Watch. HPD’s Chief Myers has advised that only couples who live together can go out during this time (It’s hard to be 6 feet apart in the Crime Watch car!) so we’ve been going out to do residence and business checks. It’s refreshing to see a lot more kids riding bikes and scooters and adults out walking than we would see pre-pandemic. I also have been blessed to get to volunteer at the Hoquiam Food Bank twice a week. Linda and Susie and all of their volunteers work so hard, and folks who are there to pick up much-needed food are very appreciative.

Ever since Arnold Samuels moved into Brookdale Ocean Shores, I have been visiting him once a week. Arnold was an inspirational speaker for my Hoquiam Middle School English 8th grade students whenever we would read Anne Frank. Arnold is a German Jew who came to America when he was 14 years old. He then served in the US Army during World War II. Because workers at Brookdale (and every other assisted living place) are being wise in keeping their residents isolated, it’s quite a lonely and boring time for those folks. I’ve still gone out to see him weekly, but we have to visit through his window.

Thank goodness for all of the medical, emergency, essential business and delivery folks who are still going to work every single day. Where would we be without them? I also appreciate our modern technology during this time. Thanks to ZOOM and Facetime, we still get to see our family while talking with them; we were even able to celebrate our grandson’s 4th birthday long distance!

My heart aches for all of the victims of Covid 19 and their families. Yes, it can be depressing worrying about our world’s health and economy, but I guess the way I’m handling this crisis is to “make lemonade out of lemons.” I’m thankful to be able to do some much-needed home projects, to spend quality time with my husband and our kittens, to have time to do lots of exercise, to do some volunteering and visiting with loved ones, and to appreciate Grays Harbor and its people.