I find the human spirit amazing. In the midst of tragedy, of anguish, of grief and fear, people reach deep down inside and find ways in which to carry on. Be it mourning alone when the service and the house should have been overflowing with people or finding ways in which to actually meet with others, standing six feet apart, able to converse and share life once again - people are coming up with ways in which they survive. They dig deep down and find out what they are made of and often find that they are better than they themselves had thought.
Long married couples, together for more hours at a stretch then they are used to, find out new things about themselves as people, as a couple. They learn how to be together for those endless hours at a stretch and they learn how to be separate together, in the same home, be it small or large. Personally, I am pleasantly surprised with my husband as he gets antsy staying in for too long. He has made a routine of a walk, of puttering with things around the condo, finally! straightening some of his'messes' and we talk, watch TV, read the books we had from the library, book dropping them off when done, talk some more and use new technology to speak with the far flung parts of the family. One Zoom session coming up today.
But here is a warning:Think carefully before starting on some projects which might look doable, but warning! warning! warning! They will test your strength, your stick to it abilities, and you will wonder why the heck you even started this thing going! Too many people are going down this road. Just walk down a street, masked and gloved, and see the piles of discards, of huge black garbage bags, of boxes of gasp! books. That kills me, for one should never discard a book unless it is vile with hatred. Within books are found the wisdom of the centuries. One finds adventures, facts, history, pleasure, thought inducing words, and just plain fun. Books are one good way to pass the time.
Why did I say too many are doing this? Is it not a good thing? Yes and no. It is fun. One finds old books and memories abound. I find all my copies of the many novels and plays I, together with my students, learned, discussed, saw in plays, and the memories flooded, as I spoke of them. Hours passed, but the books did not disappear by themselves. Nope, not one. Red Alert! This is an endless project. Books seem to replicate themselves overnight and where I had thought to have a clean shelf to repack with the survivor books, uh oh, there are already books there. How and why remain a mystery.
Thus one needs patience and strength. One needs to solve the mystery of these replicating books or just deal with it! One needs to be ruthless in pruning the collection and full disclosure, it hurts me to put one in a discard box, especially in quantity. I remember the plots, the characters, their decisions and adventures. I remember my likes and dislikes and so wish them to be shared with others if they are going to lose their homes within my home.
And so my living room now is a book storage unit. Anyone who comes near the door is asked if they like to read and what do they read and they get some books. My poor kids are going to get piles of their own and we so warned them of that fact last night. Reminder: If you have several days running - as we all do now - of remaining in the home, spread out the work or your back will go on strike! I warned you. Heed that warning and ignore at your own risk. Do you not hear my back screaming at me?
But now we are stuck. There is so much more to go through. Boxes that never found room on our shelves. Boxes of books that just found their way into my home.Boxes that we ordered, that we bought at sales, religious books that we rescued at swap meets when people had no idea as to what they were tossing on the ground. Boxes and books and now the boxes are piling up and I must find more. And we need to tackle the huge amount of books within the three chests where we stored them. I cannot wait to rediscover them, discard the minimum (probably) and find room for the rest and hopefully, find new homes for them after the isolation is over. But will it ever be done?
You answer that for yourselves as I just placed an order for 12 more books and they are starting to come in. Cannot wait to unwrap them, read them! It is a treasure just waiting for me right in my own two hands, no need to travel, to hassle. Just read, immerse oneself in their contents. Then....well where the heck do they go? Ummmm, well.....I'll figure it out. But right now, back to the pruning!
In the meanwhile, stay safe, be safe,be well, and dig deep down during this challenging time and you will be proud of yourself as you find your innermost strength no matter what you face.
Be safe. Be well. Read.
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