When the pandemic hit in March 2020 I asked "What might this (crap) make possible that would not otherwise be possible?" Yah, call me crazy for searching for treasure in trash and tragedy. But I find that - without hope - I'm pretty useless to Planet Earth, so I seek jewels of hope even in a pile of rubble. It's a survival strategy.
Well, what I came up with on March 18, 2020, was a DAILY VIRTUAL HAPPY HOUR by Zoom with my Mummy and some friends. We literally met EVERY DAY from March 18, 2020 to Aug. 7, 2021. And we created a "Pandemic Memories Scrap Book" to capture some of our moments together.
We played virtual puzzles, had a "wear a lampshade as a hat" day, and otherwise cavorted together. And every couple of weeks the events were virtual musical concerts, which were truly magical ways to hang out together. Our musician friends fought the demons of Zoom noise cancellation algorithms and latency effects and figured out how to play separately together . . . or play outside distanced and stream their musical magic to us. Priceless!
OK, sometimes it wasn't a very "happy" happy hour. In fact I DID change the name of these events to "The Zoom of Doom & Gloom" for a while, as we just couldn't drag ourselves away from the "DARK SIDE" conversations as the waters of despair licked at our boots. BUT WE KEPT GOING!
And we dreamed of a day when we would all be sitting around a campfire on the beach, gazing out to the Pacific Ocean, sharing these memories, singing songs, and sipping some beer or wine together. IT WILL HAPPEN SOMEDAY!
Last week my Mum came to live with us for a few months, and last Sunday I actually FORGOT to go to my OWN virtual happy hour! That was a sign to me that it was time to change things up. In all we have done over 500 Virtual Happy Hours and Virtual Concerts since March 2020. I have decided that it's time to explore what ELSE this pandemic makes possible. I'm switching to twice a week virtual happy hours and searching for the opportunities to make a positive difference hidden in the continuing challenges we face together. (OK, to be honest I'm thinking . . . "I'm up to my ass in opportunities!" . . . yikes!)
Let's keep hope alive People of Planet Earth! Continue to turn breakDOWNS into breakTHROUGHS.
KEEP GROWING & KEEP GOING! . . . together . . . to a new future.
Scrappy Kimberly