Open For Business

I've heard some places are returning to normal or close to normal, but here in Ontario, Canada, we've just started yet another shutdown, the third one we've had, as Covid cases rise to alarming levels yet again. Maybe the third time's the charm, as the old saying goes, but after my initial disappointment at the thought of standing in yet another line, to buy yet another "thing", I decided to shift my mindset and see this latest crisis as an opportunity and headed out of town into a place I haven't been for a while. I hopped into old "Bernice," my trusty, ancient and less than attractive, but perfectly serviceable van, armed with a cooler full of goodies, tackle and a fishing rod.

Now, I'm no fisherman/fisherwoman. In fact, it's been a good 25 years since I've tossed a hook into the water, but as I said to my husband, it was "something to do" at a time when the typical things we do are off limits, no gyms, no salons, no theatres, no dinners out. You'd think we'd have gotten used to this way of being by now, but no, not really. It was just starting to come back, and BAM, it was gone again. Funny how you miss things that you don't really care about. I was never one to go out much. In fact, the chances of finding me at a restaurant or theatre, let alone a gym, are, and always have been slim to none, but having the option taken away, again, was like a kick in the gut.

So off we went, and as I sat out there, in nature, as the river flowed along in front of me, I somehow gained a new perspective, and this poem kind of fell out of me, which explains how I feel right now. Yeah, we're in a lockdown, but we have so much to be grateful for, so much to explore, and so much to enjoy:

The sun on my face is warm

No jacket required,

As I sit quietly by the river’s edge.

FIshin’s no good.

Too early, I guess,

And the ground’s too cold for worms.

I inhale deeply,

A mix of wet thawing earth and crispness of new life.

I put down my rod,

Basking in the glorious freedom

Only Mother Nature Provides.

There’s no one around for miles,

No traffic,

No lines,

Not a soul clamoring to get inside to pick up “just one more thing”.

It’s just me and The Mother,

Briefly,

Momentarily,

Unaware of the troubles around us,

Because SHE is open for business.