Love In The Time Of Corona Virus

     Today was a dancing day.  G and I are holed up here trying to get some kind of handle on the Corona virus pandemic.  I went to the grocery about a week ago and came home with enough of whatever unwanted canned vegetables were left on shelves to last a couple of weeks, plus frozen fish and shrimp, canned tuna and whatever the hell else I thought might keep us alive.  I never bought soy milk before but it doesn’t need refrigeration before opening so I got some.  Cereal.  Stuff that will keep.  I usually love to grocery shop but this wasn’t fun.  I get that same feeling walking into a grocery store now as I get walking into an airport men’s restroom.  Get in, get out, touch nothing that can be avoided.  Everything has changed.  

      Our world here in a rural southern Springtime is glorious.  Birds are singing everywhere.  The dandelions are mostly gone but the redbuds are having their moment before the Dogwoods take over.  My blue pickup truck’s hood and top are yellow/green from pollen.  Spring is my favorite time of year but there is now something out there that is ominous.  For the first time in our lives, G and I are afraid.  Lots of people are.  Maybe you are.  If so, you know its a bad feeling.  

    One thing I can tell you, though, is that the same elements of  our relationship that sustained G and me all our lives – those I wrote about in the first few installments of this blog are still giving us strength and comfort.  So many of the things we used to cherish or hate, defend or attack, laugh at or cry over have, in the face of a real danger, become meaningless but our respect for each other, our shared lifetime of memories and music and places and experiences have grown in importance and comfort to us.  This odd time has become very much a time of celebration of the life we have lived.  We fill the house with music and we dance – sometimes light and romantic and sometimes really dirty.  We laugh at private jokes.  We enjoy each other.  We depend on each other just as we always have.  

     We don’t know what will happen.  But we have the satisfaction of knowing that we had a great time.  We didn’t intentionally hurt anyone.  We did some things really well and, if all that religion stuff should turn out to be real, I think we can stand proudly in front of God and defend our lives.  In fact, I think we’re probably going to get a standing ovation.  Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other.  Now, more than ever, be lovers. 

If you get a chance, re-read the first posts to this blog. If you haven’t read them, scroll down and enjoy yourself. Thanks, Rietzel