Today I spent 5 hours playing monopoly. See, we are all homebound due to Coronavirus these days and our lives have radically changed. Alexandros was in the lead with 4 hotels and his rent was killing me, Petros built 6 houses in the most expensive areas, Aris and Leon kept trying for double dice, to get me out of prison.
In the afternoon I pop out to the outdoor grocery store by our home. Traffic is low, people wear masks and go quietly about their business, casting suspicious glances around. At the grocery store Mrs Litsa seems nervous, concerned. “How are you getting on these days” I ask and we chat for a while. I’ve known Mrs Litsa for 7 years now but I never really slowed down to chat. See, we are all homebound due to Coronavirus these days and our lives have radically changed. I did not know she has 3 grandchildren and lives right next door to her daughter. That’s the young lady I see behind the till on occasion, the two of them share shifts at the family business to keep it afloat. Years now. The jams at the top shelves are homemade she says, she makes these herself. I opt for fig jam and apricot jam, thank her, sanitize my hands with the gel she keeps by the till and head back home.
On my way out I get an sms from the twins’ school teacher. This is the teacher that has been looking after one of my many boys at any given time, for the last 9 years. She shares with us how she prays that we are all well, how she misses her little munchkins at school, how she craves creativity and interaction now that the schools are closed. See, we are all homebound due to Coronavirus these days and our lives have radically changed.
I cannot recall the last time I played monopoly for over 1 hour or stopped to chat with the lady at the grocery store or felt moved by a message on WhatsApp. I am a mother of four young children, a career mum, a coach, a student of that or the other, I have a ruthless routine. I never have time to play, linger, chat, be moved.
See, we are all homebound due to Coronavirus these days and our lives have radically changed. Could this be a change we all needed perhaps? As of today we begin to pay respect to our human dimension, begin to realize that our humanity is what connects us all. We start to communicate through emotions. We look around, pause, worry, wonder. We live. This is what I choose today too. I chose to live.
We perceive this new Coronavirus as a black smoke. An evil, dense, black smoke that threatens to smolder us all. We suffocate, curse, fear. We also fail to see the light that pushes this smoke away trying to get to the top. Rich, bright, eternal, this light wants to fill our lives and hearts.
I focus well when I work from home, I can be so efficient. Yesterday I wrapped up early and headed off with the boys; we went for a stroll by the sea at sunset. The boys were hungry for school. They studied their online material quickly and independently. My favourite bookstore in the centre of Athens is setting up an online shop. My favorite boutique shut down; the owner has now signed up for an online course on “how to grow an agile business”. On Easter Sunday the whole family will break fasting and have our traditional lamb meal. My friend Angeliki is getting married to her beau in May. My sister and my best friend will both give birth around the same time, in June. Both will have a girl. Two tiny, fragile human beings will arrive and fill our lives with so much joy. God bless.
Do you know what? Life always supports us. So let’s say YES to caution. And let’s also say YES to positive action.
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