In my office, there's a small section of wall between the trim around the closet and the trim around the entry door.
As I was painting this weekend, carefully using my edging brush and doing my best to not get any on the trim, I thought about life and the situation we are in.
I feel like I've been living in that tiny space the last few weeks.
The space between reality and fiction.
The word I've used a lot lately is "surreal."
I wake up each morning in my ordinary bed, go downstairs to my ordinary kitchen, make my ordinary coffee, feed my ordinary cat, and open the blinds to let some light in.
Everything seems so normal.
It's almost hard to believe what's going on outside of this space I live in.
I got furloughed this past week. Starting on Monday, I don't have a job for awhile.
I've been working since I was 14 years old.
I have never been unemployed and it still doesn't seem real to me. It will hit me Monday morning I am sure, when I wake up and realize I don't have to log in to my laptop and hit the ground running.
My career in travel technology has been my life for the better part of the last 20 years. It challenges my brain and I've made great friends in my organization.
I'm going to miss the sense of satisfaction I get when we accomplish something amazing together and the camaraderie we shared when times got tough.
One of the hardest days of my life was when I said goodbye last Friday and had to do it virtually; without even a farewell hug.
I know this is a "see you later" and not a true goodbye. Or at least I like to think it is.
I'll find ways to fill my time with things that are purposeful. I'll make myself stronger for when they call me back, or for wherever life takes me from here.
But there's part of me that keeps thinking I'll wake up and this will all be a dream.
Today, I'm sitting in that space, between what feels like a movie and what is actually real, thinking about the true threat that this virus poses to all of us.
And it makes me sad to see the people that are disregarding it as if it doesn't exist.
As hard as it is to not be out socializing with our friends and family, to not have those "normal" activities that would have previously filled our hours, we have to do what it takes to protect each other.
And it takes ALL of us.
Not just some of us. Not just the ones who are high risk or live with others who are high risk.
But everyone.
The young ones, the healthy ones, the ones who think for whatever reason that they are invincible.
Now more than ever, we need to find peace in that space between.
If we all do it, hopefully it's only for a little while.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in this tiny space any longer than I have to.
And I'd like to see my friends and family get back to work sooner than later.
We need to do this not just to fight this virus, but to shorten the impact this has on our lives overall.
We need to do this so we can enjoy each other's company freely again, so we can travel again, so we can build our new normal.
Settle into that space my friends. Get really comfortable.
Do it for all of us.
Wishing you peace and good health.
Stay safe and well!
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