Digging in the dirt on a Covid19 Saturday
How’s your Covid19 day going?
I spent the first couple of hours of my day today feeling weighed down.
Saturday morning, first weekend in April. Life in the time of Covid19.
I lazed around wondering why I’m not getting much done and what in fact I might consider doing. Nothing had much appeal beyond painting my hair and a bath. Just meh.
I put off my sister’s invitation to talk. I did pick up my daughter’s call, straight from meh-ville.
I’m not sick, honey. I’m not freaking out. Nothing’s happened. I’m in a mood; just meh. It’ll probably pass.
After a while my bones moved me outside.
I grabbed my very cool knife — hooking its scabbard to my back pocket, found some gloves, and stabbed the sh*t out of a couple of soil bags. Not Psycho stabbing. Just using my body in unusual ways — I haven’t prepped a garden bed in a long time. It was wonderful.
I have no attachment to you taking any action. Follow your inner guidance; let it move your bones.
I got two planters ready, inhaling the aroma of poopy turf (turfy poop?), and planted a cut-and-come-again garden of tatsoi, pak choy, chard, and four kinds of kale. Plus a row of my favorite kind of carrots (Nantes — yum, sweet). Plus snap peas.
Wait. No. I didn’t go into the garden as a way to fix myself, not as a technique or a strategy.
It felt more like an allowing or following, like going with the flow.
I moved in and out of the house, and took breaks, including feeding myself with a not-quite-but-almost-seasonal snack.
Don’t go yet. I have a few some things on my mind.
I’m watching and reading the news, in chunks, on the daily.
I can’t help it. I have to.
I know you’re overloaded — how can you not be? — and I don’t want you to take anything on you can’t handle.
There may be moments when it’s just too f*cking much to pay attention to world doings. Yes.
Be open to your curiosity, and dive into those moments when you want to know more about what’s going on.
No matter where you are right now, or later on, or tomorrow — whether you’re sick or well, grounded or freaking out, employed or not, pivoting your business to be response-able to your clients and community….
No matter what — If you’re an American like me, looking just seven months ahead to a scheduled and promised (but who the f*ck knows at this point,?) presidential and senate elections, there are things I’d love to — need to — remind you about.
When you can, please inform yourself.
My sister reminded me — when I blew her off this morning — that this is a tough time.
However life in the time of this pandemic is landing for you today, when you’ve got the bandwidth for something besides your immediate needs, please don’t forget about what’s going on.
So much is at stake.
If you don’t know what’s going on, learn. If you do know, stay current. It looks to me like some sh*t is getting weirder. It looks to me like rights are being stealthily eroded every f*cking day.
If you’re concerned about what’s going in in the world, you’re not alone. If you’re wondering what action(s) you might take in this exquisitely challenging time, you’re not alone.
I have no attachment to you taking any action.
Follow your inner guidance; let it move your bones, during Covid19, during everything.
I won’t point you to any specific sources. No. Instead, I’ll whip up a google search or two for each topic — and I’ll make it as neutral as I can. I invite you to inform yourself.
I don’t know what’s true. Things are changing all the time. Please do your own research. Please be informed. And please don’t forget.
What you do with this compilation is up to you.
If you’re concerned about some/all of these, you’re not alone. If you’re wondering what action(s) you might take in this exquisitely challenging time, you’re not alone.
I care about these doings and I think they’re critically important. Even so, I curated this as neutrally as possible. In fact, I’ll reveal the search terms I used for my compiled links — feel free to craft your own searches. However you’re moved to do so, for f*ck’s sake, inform yourself.
Neutral, schmeutral — my opinions are in here. As my friend Judy Cohen said during one of the 19 weeks of March that finally ended: If I have to go down, I’m going down snarking. (Or maybe snarling in my case, as my phone’s autocorrect would have it.)
Health insurance, medicaid funds
I almost can’t type what I heard this morning.
I think I heard the person who lives in the White House say that the one-time $1,200 stimulus check would cover the costs of covid-19 treatment, or maybe the insurance for it?
The $1,200 won’t pay most people’s rent for one month, and we’re only getting one check, sometime by mid-April. The stimulus will cover what exactly?
Open enrollment is being (or already has been?) eliminated.
The DOJ is headed to the Supreme Court to further (completely?) dismantle current health insurance provisions.
Learn about what’s going on with health insurance and stimulus:
I searched “US in supreme court to eliminate obama care” Results: Supreme Court/ObamaCare
Search terms: “when will stimulus checks come in and who won’t get them” Search results: Stimulus checks
The stockpile — WTF with the life-saving supplies?
We’re a country, right? With a federal government?
The federal government was created to serve a federation of states, like we’re in this together, United. Remember No taxation without representation?
Consider the national stockpile. Um, if our nation is made up of states, how can the son-in-law claim the stockpile is for “us”? Who’s us, exactly?
Did you notice how the Health and Human Services website language on the HHS changed overnight to back up Jared’s groundless statements?
I searched “jared kushner scolds states hhs” Results: Stockpile/supplies
SBA grants (they were grants yesterday, today not so sure)
Things are moving really really fast. Get your application in.
Today I heard that the Treasury Department is redefining the Payroll Protection offer (not in the favor of small businesses in case you’re wondering).
And unemployment. How nice that self-employed people like me can apply (only took me eight tries and I burned through two email addresses before making my way through the maze of California’s circa 2002 DOE website). How grim to hear how long it may take for these claims to be processed and the funds to start coming through.
My search terms: payroll protection mnuchin. Results: Payroll Protection
Then I searched: when will i start to get unemployment. Results: Unemployment
Abortion / women’s rights
The rug is being yanked really hard right now.
More and more states are pointing cases toward the Supreme Court to test and strip women’s right to choose.
I’m speechless.
I searched “abortion rights.” Here. Learn about women’s rights at risk.
Elections and voter registration
The election is less than seven months away.
We’re promised a presidential election this year along with critical races in the Senate. If this matters to you, if restoring something more like a democratic process to this country matters to you (hooboy am I ever being careful here, and I’m gonna shut up in just a sec, promise), look at this stuff.
Voting rights — your right to be a voter, and the right to vote by mail or absentee in any conditions — are being threatened and withheld.
I searched “voting rights.” Understand what’s going on about voting
There’s more I didn’t get to. An exhausting amount more.
Racism. Immigration. Mental health. Anxiety. Oh and the f*cking stock market, did that escape my wrathful notice?
You know what to do.
Take care of yourself. Trust yourself. Find a way to share yourself and your gorgeous heart with someone else today. Be well. Do what occurs to you to do.
Join me for Simplici-Tea.
Hey lovely, did you know I’m doing Simplici-Tea calls again? Free. #simplifyyourlife ( Info on Facebook, if that’s a hangout of yours. Or sign up for my love letter, and get updates.)
Next Simplici-Tea: Thursday, April 9th, 4pm PDT. Join the call (password: simpliciT).
I love you. Blessed be.
Originally published at https://magnoliaswest.com on April 5, 2020.
