It has now been over a month since my life was normal. For some of you, it may be longer, and for some, it may not be as long. Unfortunately, this global pandemic has left few unscathed throughout the world, even if no one they know was affected by the virus itself. This past month has brought some good things, and some not so good. I was reminded a couple of weeks ago of a youth group tradition at my church of sharing pows and wows (bad things and good things), and so here in no particular order are the pows and wows of this last month, starting with a few things that were a bit of both.
Pow/Wow- The news: While it's been good to get information about what's going on, the constant updates get to be a bit much. A few of my friends have decided to not watch the news at all, but I think that's a bit extreme. I have decided to still watch and read some news but limit how much I watch and read. That often means reading only part of long articles and occasionally muting the TV after I get the gist of the story. Both print and visual media tend to sensationalize things, and often the point is made early in the article or story, and what follows only serves to increase fear in the reader or viewer. Limiting how much information I read or view keeps me informed without increasing my anxiety.
Pow/Wow-Facebook: I've noticed that this trial has brought out the true nature of the people I know. In most cases, it proves to me what I already know about them, but in others, I have seen a dark side I never would have noticed before. A few of my friends have decided that it is their responsibility to criticize either everything President Trump does or everything Governor Kelly does. Even though I only voted for one of them, I believe both leaders have made some good decisions and some questionable decisions. As a result, I don't think the constant criticism is necessary. Dealing with a global pandemic was not what either of them signed up for, and they're each doing what they think is best. Right now, they need our prayers for guidance, not our condemnation. They likely will never see our criticisms on Facebook, but God will always listen to our prayers for them, and praying for them may help us gain some perspective as well.
I have also seen people trying to control how others live. I shared something on my page about how some of us are not afraid of the virus because God has seen us through much worse, and a high school acquaintance decided to make a snarky comment about staying home. Needless to say, I deleted her comment and then unfriended her because I don't need someone that negative in my life. I even considered going through my list of friends and unfriending others who are really acquaintances, and not treasured ones at that. During my first few years on Facebook, I added everybody I knew whether I really liked them or not, and she is not the first person whose negativity caused me to unfriend them. I can tolerate some negativity if I know that's not who the person really is, but in each of these cases, the negativity that caused me to end the Facebook friendship was a reflection of who they are all the time.
While there has been some negativity, Facebook has mostly been positive. There have been a number of games and getting to know you posts that have allowed me to connect deeper with my friends. It has also allowed me to stay in touch with my friends even though we can't be together right now.
Pow/Wow-Internet: Without having internet, I wouldn't be able to keep up with my friends via Facebook, meet with my students through Google Hangouts Meet, listen to all the at-home live concerts my favorite artists have been doing, or continue having meetings with my Stephen Ministry group. However, between the fact that our internet is not the best and there is more internet traffic with so many people at home, I have had some trouble getting a connection at times. I've had meetings with students crash multiple times, videos get choppy, and had to refresh the page multiple times just to get on and edit this post. However, even slow and choppy internet is better than no internet at all, and I know that is something that is a struggle for many people right now.
Pow-No School: The reason I have been meeting with my students online is because there is no school for the rest of the year. Governer Kelly made the decision on March 17 to close all school buildings for the rest of the school year. While at the time I was opposed to the decision, I also thought that life would be back to normal by now.
The students are still learning. Each week, the classroom teachers send the parents a schedule of activities for each student to do during the week, including attending two online class meetings. While the online meetings do allow me to see the kids and hear good things that they wish to share, it doesn't allow me to hug them, and that is hard for me. Working with kindergarten and first-grade students, I'm used to getting a lot of hugs each day, and I have really been missing them. I also know that some of those students crave hugs from us teachers, and that's something we can't give them through a computer screen.
Wow-New Printer: At the beginning of March, Dad started a new job, and he needed to get a printer for the house so he could print out things he needed for work. We hadn't had a working printer for a while, so I had to print things out at work or at the library, and now that both of those are closed, I am glad that I have the ability to print things at home again.
Pow-Library Closed: Being stuck at home gives me plenty of time to read and watch movies, but since the library is closed, I'm stuck with what I already have at home. Not only that, but until they reopen, we can't put a hold on anything. I recently finished a devotion over the movie Risen and decided to get it from the library and watch it as soon as I can, but I have to wait until they open to put a hold on it and hope that there aren't a bunch of other people wanting to watch it as well.
Mom is really not happy about the library being closed. She was working her way through a series of books, and instead of being able to continue while there's not much else to do, she's in limbo until they reopen, which at this point doesn't look like it will happen until next month.
While I can understand why they closed because it is a place that often has numerous people coming in and out, it also provides a valuable service to the community. Like I mentioned earlier, for the last couple of years I had been going there at least once a month to print something out, and had we not gotten the new printer, I would be lost without the ability to do that. However, most of the people who use those computers do so because they don't have internet access at home. Especially now that some people have lost their jobs and need to file for unemployment, those internet stations are crucial. While they have put some resources online for patrons, like e-books, I think they also should have done something to help those in need of the internet service they provide.
Wow-New Phone: A couple of months ago, Dad broke the screen on his phone, and he hadn't yet gotten around to fixing it. Then one Saturday, he went to get it fixed, and in talking to the clerk, he discovered that we could switch carriers for not much more than it would cost to fix his screen and replace the battery in Mom's phone, and we got four free phones as well. That meant that all three of us got brand-new phones as well as getting a new home phone. My new phone has more storage, a longer battery life, and runs much faster than my old phone. It has allowed me to do a lot more in all my free time than I would have been able to before, and since I still have my old phone, I can use it when my new phone is charging.
Pow-Social Distancing: Since the virus is spread through close contact, we have been told to practice good "social distancing," meaning leaving six feet between us in public places. This directive has led to quite a few "Social Distance Shamers," who seem to think that it is their job to give people a hard time for leaving the house.
One such person was the acquaintance mentioned above, who made her comment without any idea what I had been doing recently, and therefore no basis to attack me for not staying home. There was also someone who shared something asking "If Public Health called tomorrow and told you that you had tested positive for COVID-19 and asked you to list all the places you had been and all the people you had been in contact with for the last 14 days would you be proud of yourself, or embarrassed by your actions?” While it bothered me that this post was trying to make people feel guilty, what really bothered me was the fact that it was posted little more than a week after things started changing here in Kansas. Fourteen days before that was posted, we were going about our normal lives aware of the virus, but unaware of how much our lives would change in just a few days.
Another person shared a link to an article that graded each state on how well they were adhering to social distance regulations, and since Kansas has a D, she urged everybody to do better. Looking at the website, I could tell the research methodology was deeply flawed because Wyoming had an F and New York had an A, and after I realized that cell phone data was the method used, I could understand why. Both Wyoming and Kansas have communities so remote that their residents have to travel miles to go to work or get groceries, thereby passing by quite a few cell phone towers. In addition, many people have taken their families out on drives, so their cell phones travel around without them ever interacting with anyone else. The fact that she had shared an article with deeply flawed methodology didn't really annoy me until I watched a recent video a couple of hours later where she was singing with three friends, and all four of them were within a six-foot radius. Since then, I have seen her doing the same thing every week. So she was trying to get everyone else to practice social distancing, yet refuses to do so herself.
However, as a few artists have said in the concerts or podcasts they have done during this time, the term should be "physical distancing" because while we need to stay apart physically, we can still connect through phone calls and social media. I have been able to connect with a few people this way, but it's not the same. I miss my people, and can't wait until we are able to be together again.
Wow-Encouraging Live Videos: Every Monday morning for the past few weeks, Mandisa has done "Mornings With Mandisa", where she goes live on her YouTube channel with a video for her fans. Each one is only about 30 minutes long, but she packs a lot of encouragement into those 30 minutes.
Another recent source of encouragement has been Bible Study Bistro hosted by Jennifer Rothschild. Each Tuesday, she and her friend Paula go live to connect with fans, talk about life, and talk about a Bible passage. We have been studying Isaiah 40 the past few weeks, and starting May 5, we'll be working through Jennifer's book Missing Pieces.
Pow-Gym Closed: I had been doing really well about going to the gym two to three times a week and working out for 45 minutes to an hour each time. Then on March 15 shortly after I returned from Zumba, they closed the local YMCA locations. At first, the plan was to only be closed for a week for some deep cleaning, but by the end of the week, they had announced that they would remain closed for the foreseeable future. With Kansas under a stay-at-home order through May 3, it will be next month at least before I can once again go there to work out.
I have started working out at home three days a week, but it's not the same. I don't have the kind of equipment I like to use at the gym, and I don't have the community of doing a Zumba class or the space to try and do my own at home. I wasn't able to go to Zumba while I was practicing for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat because we had rehearsals on Sunday afternoons at the same time as my class. Then, just after the performances when I could go back, the gym closed and I'm without it once again. I'm just glad I was able to go once before the closure happened.
Wow-Musicals: As I mentioned before, I was in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Performing in the musical was an amazing experience that I will go into further in a later post. How it relates to the pandemic is that the performances were the weekend before we had to start shutting everything down. I am so thankful that after putting in so much work we were able to do it rather than being in limbo, or worse, completely unable to do the performance at all.
Another musical-related good thing is the YouTube channel "The Shows Must Go On". Each Friday at 7:00 PM GMT, one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals is live-streamed, and following the live stream, stays available online for the next 48 hours. So far they have played Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Phantom of the Opera. I enjoy watching musicals, and this gives me a chance to do so for free while I'm stuck at home.
Pow-Palm Sunday: At my church, we have a tradition of reading Scripture and the choir singing songs to tell the Passion story, but with having to stay home this year, we couldn't do that. Sure, the online service included our singing from last year, but it wasn't the same. Listening to the Scripture and singing helps me become immersed in the story, and sitting at home watching us sing did not.
Wow-Easter: Some of you probably expected this to be one of my pows. After all, I had to celebrate it at home instead of with my church family. However, even though it was not like what I'm used to, it was special in its own way. I bought myself a new dress, mainly because a local retailer had one I liked that hadn't sold yet. I had planned to buy it in person, but because of the stay-at-home order, I had to buy it online and go by her house and pick it up. I didn't really mind too much because the weekend before I bought it, I had received a $15 shop credit from participating in one of her Facebook posts in the group, so I spent less than what I was expecting!
During Holy Week, I had seen a few posts about how this Easter would be very similar to the first Easter because the disciples spent the first Easter in their houses behind locked doors. That perspective made all the difference because even though our circumstances were similar, we have more hope now than they had then because we know for a fact that Christ is risen! Not only that, but the technology we have now allows us to worship with others even if we're not physically with them.
An unexpected. but no less welcome, advantage of Easter in this pandemic was Easter football. Since there are no live sports going on, they replayed the 2008 Super Bowl on FOX. Since I'm a huge football fan, I really enjoyed getting to watch football in the spring, even though it was a game I had already seen.
Pow-VBS Postponed: Since we won't be able to meet in person for worship until at least May, and we're not sure how close we'll be able to get to each other even when the stay-at-home order is lifted, the VBS directors have decided to postpone the kickoff until we have more information, even though VBS itself was two months away. While I'm not a huge fan of that decision, especially not how early it was made, I do understand their point. I think the main thing that is bothering me is that this is just one more thing I was looking forward to that won't happen when I expected it to.
Wow-New Music: More time at home has led to more time to watch YouTube videos of my favorite artists, and that has led me to songs I had never heard before. I have often noticed when I got full albums from an artist that sometimes there are hidden gems on them: absolutely amazing songs that they have never played on the radio. A few of the songs I listened to and loved were from Skillet and Casting Crowns, and may have been played on the radio before, but not the station I listen to. I listen to The House FM, a radio station based out of Ponca City, Oklahoma. I was attracted to the station because K-Love, the station I had been listening to, got to the point where their playlist was very worship music heavy, and the only time I ever heard a Skillet song was when they did an acoustic version for a movie. However, many Casting Crowns songs are more worshipful and are therefore played on K-Love rather than The House FM. On the other hand, Skillet's songs have gradually been getting edgier, and are therefore too hardcore to be on The House FM. (I have an eclectic taste in music, I know.) In addition, I found an article Monday night about Christian albums turning 20 this year, and one of them was Skillet's debut album. I know at least one of those songs will end up on my iPod because they had a link to that song in the article, and even though it is vastly different from the music they play now, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Pow-Anxiety: If you've read some of my more recent posts, you know that I struggle with anxiety, and these past few weeks have definitely triggered that. However, most of the time, my anxiety has hit me differently than it ever has before. In the past, I'd think about something that bothered me, start worrying, and occasionally, my entire body would start shaking. Recently, there have been times when my mind is clear and my body is still shaking. There are three times in just the last week that I have been convinced that we were having an earthquake even though we weren't because these seismic panic attacks are that intense, and just like when we've actually had an earthquake, my body is still quivering for quite a while afterward.
Wow-No One I Know is Infected: While the number of infections has been increasing exponentially around the world, the virus itself has yet to impact my family or friends. I know that being able to say that is a rarity in these uncertain times, and I feel incredibly blessed that I am one of the select few that gets to say it. I am aware that this may change before the pandemic runs its course, but for now, the irritations of isolation are all that I have to deal with.
Pow/Wow- The news: While it's been good to get information about what's going on, the constant updates get to be a bit much. A few of my friends have decided to not watch the news at all, but I think that's a bit extreme. I have decided to still watch and read some news but limit how much I watch and read. That often means reading only part of long articles and occasionally muting the TV after I get the gist of the story. Both print and visual media tend to sensationalize things, and often the point is made early in the article or story, and what follows only serves to increase fear in the reader or viewer. Limiting how much information I read or view keeps me informed without increasing my anxiety.
Pow/Wow-Facebook: I've noticed that this trial has brought out the true nature of the people I know. In most cases, it proves to me what I already know about them, but in others, I have seen a dark side I never would have noticed before. A few of my friends have decided that it is their responsibility to criticize either everything President Trump does or everything Governor Kelly does. Even though I only voted for one of them, I believe both leaders have made some good decisions and some questionable decisions. As a result, I don't think the constant criticism is necessary. Dealing with a global pandemic was not what either of them signed up for, and they're each doing what they think is best. Right now, they need our prayers for guidance, not our condemnation. They likely will never see our criticisms on Facebook, but God will always listen to our prayers for them, and praying for them may help us gain some perspective as well.
I have also seen people trying to control how others live. I shared something on my page about how some of us are not afraid of the virus because God has seen us through much worse, and a high school acquaintance decided to make a snarky comment about staying home. Needless to say, I deleted her comment and then unfriended her because I don't need someone that negative in my life. I even considered going through my list of friends and unfriending others who are really acquaintances, and not treasured ones at that. During my first few years on Facebook, I added everybody I knew whether I really liked them or not, and she is not the first person whose negativity caused me to unfriend them. I can tolerate some negativity if I know that's not who the person really is, but in each of these cases, the negativity that caused me to end the Facebook friendship was a reflection of who they are all the time.
While there has been some negativity, Facebook has mostly been positive. There have been a number of games and getting to know you posts that have allowed me to connect deeper with my friends. It has also allowed me to stay in touch with my friends even though we can't be together right now.
Pow/Wow-Internet: Without having internet, I wouldn't be able to keep up with my friends via Facebook, meet with my students through Google Hangouts Meet, listen to all the at-home live concerts my favorite artists have been doing, or continue having meetings with my Stephen Ministry group. However, between the fact that our internet is not the best and there is more internet traffic with so many people at home, I have had some trouble getting a connection at times. I've had meetings with students crash multiple times, videos get choppy, and had to refresh the page multiple times just to get on and edit this post. However, even slow and choppy internet is better than no internet at all, and I know that is something that is a struggle for many people right now.
Pow-No School: The reason I have been meeting with my students online is because there is no school for the rest of the year. Governer Kelly made the decision on March 17 to close all school buildings for the rest of the school year. While at the time I was opposed to the decision, I also thought that life would be back to normal by now.
The students are still learning. Each week, the classroom teachers send the parents a schedule of activities for each student to do during the week, including attending two online class meetings. While the online meetings do allow me to see the kids and hear good things that they wish to share, it doesn't allow me to hug them, and that is hard for me. Working with kindergarten and first-grade students, I'm used to getting a lot of hugs each day, and I have really been missing them. I also know that some of those students crave hugs from us teachers, and that's something we can't give them through a computer screen.
Wow-New Printer: At the beginning of March, Dad started a new job, and he needed to get a printer for the house so he could print out things he needed for work. We hadn't had a working printer for a while, so I had to print things out at work or at the library, and now that both of those are closed, I am glad that I have the ability to print things at home again.
Pow-Library Closed: Being stuck at home gives me plenty of time to read and watch movies, but since the library is closed, I'm stuck with what I already have at home. Not only that, but until they reopen, we can't put a hold on anything. I recently finished a devotion over the movie Risen and decided to get it from the library and watch it as soon as I can, but I have to wait until they open to put a hold on it and hope that there aren't a bunch of other people wanting to watch it as well.
Mom is really not happy about the library being closed. She was working her way through a series of books, and instead of being able to continue while there's not much else to do, she's in limbo until they reopen, which at this point doesn't look like it will happen until next month.
While I can understand why they closed because it is a place that often has numerous people coming in and out, it also provides a valuable service to the community. Like I mentioned earlier, for the last couple of years I had been going there at least once a month to print something out, and had we not gotten the new printer, I would be lost without the ability to do that. However, most of the people who use those computers do so because they don't have internet access at home. Especially now that some people have lost their jobs and need to file for unemployment, those internet stations are crucial. While they have put some resources online for patrons, like e-books, I think they also should have done something to help those in need of the internet service they provide.
Wow-New Phone: A couple of months ago, Dad broke the screen on his phone, and he hadn't yet gotten around to fixing it. Then one Saturday, he went to get it fixed, and in talking to the clerk, he discovered that we could switch carriers for not much more than it would cost to fix his screen and replace the battery in Mom's phone, and we got four free phones as well. That meant that all three of us got brand-new phones as well as getting a new home phone. My new phone has more storage, a longer battery life, and runs much faster than my old phone. It has allowed me to do a lot more in all my free time than I would have been able to before, and since I still have my old phone, I can use it when my new phone is charging.
Pow-Social Distancing: Since the virus is spread through close contact, we have been told to practice good "social distancing," meaning leaving six feet between us in public places. This directive has led to quite a few "Social Distance Shamers," who seem to think that it is their job to give people a hard time for leaving the house.
One such person was the acquaintance mentioned above, who made her comment without any idea what I had been doing recently, and therefore no basis to attack me for not staying home. There was also someone who shared something asking "If Public Health called tomorrow and told you that you had tested positive for COVID-19 and asked you to list all the places you had been and all the people you had been in contact with for the last 14 days would you be proud of yourself, or embarrassed by your actions?” While it bothered me that this post was trying to make people feel guilty, what really bothered me was the fact that it was posted little more than a week after things started changing here in Kansas. Fourteen days before that was posted, we were going about our normal lives aware of the virus, but unaware of how much our lives would change in just a few days.
Another person shared a link to an article that graded each state on how well they were adhering to social distance regulations, and since Kansas has a D, she urged everybody to do better. Looking at the website, I could tell the research methodology was deeply flawed because Wyoming had an F and New York had an A, and after I realized that cell phone data was the method used, I could understand why. Both Wyoming and Kansas have communities so remote that their residents have to travel miles to go to work or get groceries, thereby passing by quite a few cell phone towers. In addition, many people have taken their families out on drives, so their cell phones travel around without them ever interacting with anyone else. The fact that she had shared an article with deeply flawed methodology didn't really annoy me until I watched a recent video a couple of hours later where she was singing with three friends, and all four of them were within a six-foot radius. Since then, I have seen her doing the same thing every week. So she was trying to get everyone else to practice social distancing, yet refuses to do so herself.
However, as a few artists have said in the concerts or podcasts they have done during this time, the term should be "physical distancing" because while we need to stay apart physically, we can still connect through phone calls and social media. I have been able to connect with a few people this way, but it's not the same. I miss my people, and can't wait until we are able to be together again.
Wow-Encouraging Live Videos: Every Monday morning for the past few weeks, Mandisa has done "Mornings With Mandisa", where she goes live on her YouTube channel with a video for her fans. Each one is only about 30 minutes long, but she packs a lot of encouragement into those 30 minutes.
Another recent source of encouragement has been Bible Study Bistro hosted by Jennifer Rothschild. Each Tuesday, she and her friend Paula go live to connect with fans, talk about life, and talk about a Bible passage. We have been studying Isaiah 40 the past few weeks, and starting May 5, we'll be working through Jennifer's book Missing Pieces.
Pow-Gym Closed: I had been doing really well about going to the gym two to three times a week and working out for 45 minutes to an hour each time. Then on March 15 shortly after I returned from Zumba, they closed the local YMCA locations. At first, the plan was to only be closed for a week for some deep cleaning, but by the end of the week, they had announced that they would remain closed for the foreseeable future. With Kansas under a stay-at-home order through May 3, it will be next month at least before I can once again go there to work out.
I have started working out at home three days a week, but it's not the same. I don't have the kind of equipment I like to use at the gym, and I don't have the community of doing a Zumba class or the space to try and do my own at home. I wasn't able to go to Zumba while I was practicing for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat because we had rehearsals on Sunday afternoons at the same time as my class. Then, just after the performances when I could go back, the gym closed and I'm without it once again. I'm just glad I was able to go once before the closure happened.
Wow-Musicals: As I mentioned before, I was in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Performing in the musical was an amazing experience that I will go into further in a later post. How it relates to the pandemic is that the performances were the weekend before we had to start shutting everything down. I am so thankful that after putting in so much work we were able to do it rather than being in limbo, or worse, completely unable to do the performance at all.
Another musical-related good thing is the YouTube channel "The Shows Must Go On". Each Friday at 7:00 PM GMT, one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals is live-streamed, and following the live stream, stays available online for the next 48 hours. So far they have played Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Phantom of the Opera. I enjoy watching musicals, and this gives me a chance to do so for free while I'm stuck at home.
Pow-Palm Sunday: At my church, we have a tradition of reading Scripture and the choir singing songs to tell the Passion story, but with having to stay home this year, we couldn't do that. Sure, the online service included our singing from last year, but it wasn't the same. Listening to the Scripture and singing helps me become immersed in the story, and sitting at home watching us sing did not.
Wow-Easter: Some of you probably expected this to be one of my pows. After all, I had to celebrate it at home instead of with my church family. However, even though it was not like what I'm used to, it was special in its own way. I bought myself a new dress, mainly because a local retailer had one I liked that hadn't sold yet. I had planned to buy it in person, but because of the stay-at-home order, I had to buy it online and go by her house and pick it up. I didn't really mind too much because the weekend before I bought it, I had received a $15 shop credit from participating in one of her Facebook posts in the group, so I spent less than what I was expecting!
During Holy Week, I had seen a few posts about how this Easter would be very similar to the first Easter because the disciples spent the first Easter in their houses behind locked doors. That perspective made all the difference because even though our circumstances were similar, we have more hope now than they had then because we know for a fact that Christ is risen! Not only that, but the technology we have now allows us to worship with others even if we're not physically with them.
An unexpected. but no less welcome, advantage of Easter in this pandemic was Easter football. Since there are no live sports going on, they replayed the 2008 Super Bowl on FOX. Since I'm a huge football fan, I really enjoyed getting to watch football in the spring, even though it was a game I had already seen.
Pow-VBS Postponed: Since we won't be able to meet in person for worship until at least May, and we're not sure how close we'll be able to get to each other even when the stay-at-home order is lifted, the VBS directors have decided to postpone the kickoff until we have more information, even though VBS itself was two months away. While I'm not a huge fan of that decision, especially not how early it was made, I do understand their point. I think the main thing that is bothering me is that this is just one more thing I was looking forward to that won't happen when I expected it to.
Wow-New Music: More time at home has led to more time to watch YouTube videos of my favorite artists, and that has led me to songs I had never heard before. I have often noticed when I got full albums from an artist that sometimes there are hidden gems on them: absolutely amazing songs that they have never played on the radio. A few of the songs I listened to and loved were from Skillet and Casting Crowns, and may have been played on the radio before, but not the station I listen to. I listen to The House FM, a radio station based out of Ponca City, Oklahoma. I was attracted to the station because K-Love, the station I had been listening to, got to the point where their playlist was very worship music heavy, and the only time I ever heard a Skillet song was when they did an acoustic version for a movie. However, many Casting Crowns songs are more worshipful and are therefore played on K-Love rather than The House FM. On the other hand, Skillet's songs have gradually been getting edgier, and are therefore too hardcore to be on The House FM. (I have an eclectic taste in music, I know.) In addition, I found an article Monday night about Christian albums turning 20 this year, and one of them was Skillet's debut album. I know at least one of those songs will end up on my iPod because they had a link to that song in the article, and even though it is vastly different from the music they play now, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Pow-Anxiety: If you've read some of my more recent posts, you know that I struggle with anxiety, and these past few weeks have definitely triggered that. However, most of the time, my anxiety has hit me differently than it ever has before. In the past, I'd think about something that bothered me, start worrying, and occasionally, my entire body would start shaking. Recently, there have been times when my mind is clear and my body is still shaking. There are three times in just the last week that I have been convinced that we were having an earthquake even though we weren't because these seismic panic attacks are that intense, and just like when we've actually had an earthquake, my body is still quivering for quite a while afterward.
Wow-No One I Know is Infected: While the number of infections has been increasing exponentially around the world, the virus itself has yet to impact my family or friends. I know that being able to say that is a rarity in these uncertain times, and I feel incredibly blessed that I am one of the select few that gets to say it. I am aware that this may change before the pandemic runs its course, but for now, the irritations of isolation are all that I have to deal with.
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