My life has hijacked by a virus.

Up until approximately 3 weeks ago, I was really looking forward to planting my garden. I had skipped the last two summers because I was submerged in graduate school and was barely coming up for air much less having any free time on my hands. So I was excitedly waiting to plant my small garden of cucumbers, tomatoes, banana peppers. bell peppers and eggplant. For years that little garden provided my buffer to my real world. A world that consisted of 29.5 years of working in child welfare. Trust me I needed that garden. It was the place I could find solace which was a steep contrast to what I gave my time and energy to for 10 hours from the time I opened my eyes in the morning. I loved my job and I always knew it was my calling, but my garden provided silence and beauty that I rarely saw in my everyday life. I could grow something beautiful that the world could not tarnish. But Corona had a different plan for me this summer. My solace would have to come from self reflection and retraining my thoughts. In order to do that, I had to learn to turn off the television, limit my time on social media and spend a lot of time listening to the birds sing. But what were they singing? A garden unlike birds, you plant the seed and watch the growth. Now I had to learn to listen. And what I heard were these simple words. Connection with nature is underrated.