Why I cancelled Thanksgiving

I think my readers know I haven't following the pandemic guidelines strictly.  We huddled at home for perhaps a month, letting relatives bring us groceries.  Then we decided to let the local relatives  come and visit, because there were great-grandchildren being born; before long, occasionally there were other visitors.  I wasn't too nervous about that, really.  Of course, I like to do my own shopping, so by July, things were pretty much back to normal except that we didn't run to the grocery store over once a week and we stopped going to Costco for entertainment.  I started going to both of my churches again: what a happy Sunday that was!  We still wore masks when we shopped anywhere, but for all intents and purposes, life was about 80% normal.  We really took a risk flying to Georgia, but we got by with that transgression.

So why am I suddenly back to a lockdown?  Fear is not my motivation.  It's because the hospitals in Kansas City are full, almost to the point that they can't take more patients.  That's a big concern, because if the little hospitals out here in the  country can't fix us, we're hosed.  For any major illness, people in Lafayette County are usually sent to Kansas City hospitals.  I remember the pictures of corpses in hospital hallways when the pandemic began worsening last spring.  I thought of all the doctors and nurses who have been fighting this thing for nine months, wondering if they'll take the virus home to their families.  They have to be so very tired and discouraged.  

They don't deserve it, and I'm going to do my part.  The least I can do is follow the guidelines.

Today I saw someone on Facebook ask if Oak Grove was going to have a Christmas lighting event, like always.  One person said, "Go ahead and do it.  We can't keep letting them tell us what to do."

So I got rid of Facebook.  Not permanently, yet.  But it will probably become permanent.  I've had enough of watching adults act like spoiled children.  Right now, my Facebook account is turned off.  I've done well avoiding it for the most part, but I swear, it seems when I'm reading something on the computer or web-surfing, I still find myself glancing at Facebook before I turn the computer off.  I don't spend over an hour a day doing that, but the lure is there.  I won't say how much time I used to waste just scrolling and scrolling, seeing very little of interest.  I want my brain back.  I am tired of people who think their opinion is the only valid one, who feel as though they know it all and never admit there's a possibility they could be wrong.  The election is over, but the political posts keep coming.  People I used to admire are belittling others.  

It's a good time to become a hermit.  

It's a lovely sunshiny day here.  I have struggled trying to to take short walks, but my left knee, the replacement knee, is hurting so badly when I walk too much that I can't go far no matter how slowly I walk.  However, as I looked out the window feeling sorry for myself this morning, I decided I could walk the small distance to my cottonwood tree, lie down in the grass, and soak up some sunshine.  I took Gabe along, off-leash for a change.  I often have to leash him these days because the next-door neighbor has a pack of German Shepherds, two of which run loose often (saw them in our pasture yesterday) and they want to eat Gabe.  They've gotten close to him several times when he was with me at the chicken house, even nipping at him once before I pulled him back from the fence and picked him up.  

However, we were going in a different direction today.

I was laying right underneath these branches.  I love my cottonwood tree, even when it's just a skeleton.

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It's a stark landscape in November.

Gabe did a pretty good job of coming to me when I called, except when he decided to check out the ditch, which was out of sight over the hill.  Then he suddenly turned deaf.

The dog enjoyed the exercise, and both he and I enjoyed the sun.  With my history of winter depression, I've learned that sunshine and outdoor exercise is the best way to avoid seasonal affective disorder.

Peace.