Sliding into June!

June is upon us! We are well into the second year of the pandemic. However mask mandates are lifting here, so that’s different. As hard as it was to get used to wearing a mask, it’s just as hard to stop!

I volunteered at the covid shot clinic in Winamac for over five months, I received the vaccine back in February. Didn’t have any side effects from it and I’m glad I got it. Time will tell how it works I suppose. I know the virus continues to spread and mutate and life as we knew it, is long gone, probably forever.

May passed with milestones in my family! Daughter Rachel graduated a year early with her Bachelors in Philanthropy. Her goal is to be a fund raiser for non profit companies! Helping those in need is a wonderful goal and I hope that we all have learned that we need one another with the pandemic that has enveloped us for so many months now.

I see people being a little kinder and more patient. We’ve all had to cool our heels and take giant steps back with all that we have experienced. I hope the trend continues, to look after one another and be kind.

Rachel also was blessed to be an Indianapolis 500 Festival Princess. She has made lasting friendships with other young ladies that were selected to serve their communities with outreaches that benefited many people over the last few months.

Rachel has also gotten engaged to long time boyfriend Kyle! We are excitedly planning a wedding for next spring. It also has me thinking about couples that had to curtail their wedding celebrations through the pandemic. I pray that they were able to celebrate in other ways that included their loved ones.

Dawson has been quite busy at his new position at an assisted living facility in Rochester. He’s the covid question, temperature taking guy! Our new normal has created this position and he has taken to it like a duck to water! When the time comes, if it comes, that temperature taking is no longer necessary, he hopes to move into an office position, or perhaps help with activities!

Dawson would like very much to return to college. Whether or not he would be able to retain what would be taught, only time will tell. His brain injury has left him with short term memory loss that can be difficult to navigate.

With all the changes in the world and our new normal, I’m even more aware of the quick passage of time. Time moves very quickly. In the days of the pandemic when we were basically tied to our homes, time would seem to last forever. But it hasn’t. Every twenty four hours, things change and then change again. Children grow into adults, others pass from here and we are left without them. The seasons are rolling quickly. We’re nearly halfway through 2021! It often doesn’t seem possible.

I would encourage you all to experience the moments. Whether it’s making a new friend at your job, or shopping at the Farmers’ Market. Being a Princess, or saying YES to a marriage proposal! I remind myself when I’m walking with Joe in the morning, that each day only happens once. I try to be a little softer and give thanks.

Oh, before I forget, I’ll be doing a book signing next Saturday at noon, at Indiana Beach!