We all have our stories by now, surely. I've decided it's time to share some of ours, as follows:
This past Saturday morning the phone rang and Jeannette said, "Come to the balcony."
There they were, Jeannette and Femke, our two best friends who live a 5-min. walk from us.
They, like us, are married and don't need to distance themselves from each other...only from us.
For 15 minutes we caught up on each other and, as you can see, SMILED.
I'm still smiling about it!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Yesterday our senior community here celebrated the life of Lena, age 79, who lived beneath us.
After a totally unexpected heart attack, followed by a cerebral hemorrhage last week,
she died in less than 2 days.
she died in less than 2 days.
Because none of us could attend a funeral service, if there even was one in today's lockdown,
we made a collective decision to hold a memorial service in our courtyard yesterday.
We all were totally aware of needing to distance ourselves from each other,
especially since there were 18 of us.
We were told to bring a flower with us,
which we placed in the vase outside her apartment following the service.
Afterwards, we headed to our commons room for koffie and cookies,
a common practice at funeral/memorial services here in the Netherlands.
Again, we kept our distance but grieved and communed together.
No one cared we had to use paper, disposable cups.
It was what we all needed.
No one cared we had to use paper, disposable cups.
It was what we all needed.
I was pleased that my collage was printed for the community,
for all those who didn't attend.
I had played Rummikub for my first 7 years here with Lena.
We all knew her and are still in shock about her passing, even though not caused by COVID-19.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
How many things have you had to cancel or postpone, I wonder?
Doctors appointments, teeth cleaning at the dentist, etc., etc.
Our biggest postponement is our 2-week trip to Croatia starting at the end of April,
now rescheduled for a year from now.
We also have a trip to England in July, which may also need postponement.
And so it is that we are now living in a new normal.
As daughter Amy says, things will never again be the same.
Will even climate change be affected positively...less smog in China, cleaner water in Venice....
A tear and a smile.
Oh this is bittersweet, Boots. Your friends' visit is very sweet and touching. Lena's passing is sad, and then the memorials are heartfelt and comforting.
ReplyDeleteYes, the cancellations begin to stack up. Haircut (which I need badly), but more importantly, visits to and from friends and family. Our weekly trip to Portland isn't happening, nor are visits from friends in April, maybe May, and maybe not the Robinsons in June, which is especially hard, as it would be their first visit to Maine.
Bittersweet is a good word, Ruth. I suppose it will be an appropriate word going forward for quite some time. Lots of cancellations for us all but the ones involving family and friends are the hardest.
DeleteToday at grocery shopping was our first to find no TP available...even at 3 more shops. What are people thinking??????
A tear and a smile, Ginnie, like you wrote. The meet up with our best friends and than the last farewell for Lena. It was good that we could do this with our neighbours and friends. Lena will be missed. She was always there. Even on the online Gorkum News ( https://www.nieuwsgorkum.nl/2020/03/23/afscheid-op-afstand/ ) "Farewell while keeping distance" revered to the fact that we all can do a group gathering but keep your distance and think twice before you do things you might regret later.
ReplyDelete2020 will be a year we all will remember, things will change and we all have to adapt to the new life. IHVJ.
By the time we get through to the end of this, Astrid, don't we all wonder how we'll all have changed?! Hopefully to the better!
DeleteWat hebben jullie dat prachtig en stijlvol opgelost om toch `samen op afstand` te kunnen herdenken.
ReplyDeleteMooie en lieve ode en jullie medebewoonster
@ Je ziet de feedburner werkt !!
Bless you, dear Marjolein. Yes, the feed-burner works! :) Thank you for following me here. Now I need to find out if YOU have a feed-burner at YOUR site???
DeleteA tear and a smile is a great way to describe it, Ginnie! Take care.
ReplyDeleteIndeed,Marie. You, too, take care. I assume you're not able to spend time with your grandchildren these days. If so, I hope you're keeping in touch virtually!
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