truth – Page 13 – 2 Chicks and a blog

Where’s the Disconnect?

May 10, 2020 2chicksandapen

Everywhere, all around, it seems connections are breaking down.

Big & small. Local & global. Things we never think about, things we take for granted, suddenly aren’t working anymore.

The news is so puzzling it makes my head spin.

First, food.

Almost every night on the news, there’s a story about the lines at food pantries and other food giveaways that wrap around buildings and through parking lots. People are spending hours in line to get basic necessities of all kinds. Families that were once secure are quickly, unexpectedly in need. And families that were teetering on the edge are now hanging on for dear life.

I guess it’s not that surprising, in light of how many people have lost jobs.

What turns to shocking is when I read a story about how farmers are burying onions, cracking thousands of eggs, dumping milk out and more, all before they get to consumers. The loss of restaurant, hotel, and school outlets for food has turned demand on its head. Or that the closure of meat processing plants due to COVID-19 infections means many animals will be killed and never make it to market. Staggering. Unimaginable. The resources, so desperately needed, will be destroyed.

Hungry people on one side, supplies of food on the other, being wasted.

Where’s the disconnect? Why is it so hard to fix this, if the supplies of food are there as well as the demand? While scientists are busy developing and distributing tests, I hope logistics experts are working on this food issue. I feel frustrated and helpless in it.

Second, human connection.

A similar disconnect may be true in mental health. The worries about loneliness, isolation, and more stream through my news and social media feeds. All of that is a concern. Some people cry out and are hopefully heard and reassured. But then it’s the people who are invisible, who aren’t speaking up, who may live alone or are in unhealthy situations who can be the most worrisome. People who may be losing hope, losing connection. I think we are all eager to connect. Demand is high, and I believe supply is, too. Still, being physically separate is a challenge.

I can’t drive a semi to Iowa or Idaho and get all that good food and bring it to where it is needed. I am grateful to Publix and Kroger and other organizations who are trying to reconnect supply and demand in whatever ways they can. In my own life, I can talk to those who may be having food or financial struggles and offer to share what I have. If I suspect someone might be suffering, I should just ask. Seriously, just ask.

I can be even more direct with the mental health worries, though. I can reach out to people I know. And especially try to think of people who may be having a hard time. People I haven’t heard from in a while. People who might be lonely or afraid. Disconnected. If I suspect someone might be suffering, I should just ask. Seriously, just ask. Check in.

Keep looking for ways to connect people with the resources they need. Be the connection.

fitness and nutrition

Mondays are for Heroes

May 8, 2020 2chicksandapen

In my life, Monday are for Heroes since the pandemic lockdowns began. Every Monday morning, bright and early, I complete a CrossFit Hero WOD.

I started with Zachary Tellier.

Soon after I completed Chad, which left me with a lot to reflect on.

Then I moved to Loredo and M aupin and MA3 Oscar Temores.

The heroes behind a hero WOD may be widely known, or they may just be memorials within a specific community. Last Monday, I did a WOD programmed by 20 Mile CrossFit to honor one of their community who succumbed to COVID-19. They shared it on their instagram page and I was glad to be able to participate and remember. Reading the stories, thinking of the rounds and reps and how they relate to the person’s life makes the movement more meaningful for me.

Every Monday morning, another challenge. Every Monday morning, another hero. Every Monday morning, another chance to reflect, to endure, to overcome.

I’m not sure why it feels right about doing a hero WOD to start the week. They are usually long. They are taxing. They often leave me sore the next day. Saturday would make more sense. But….

Maybe it’s because I do cardio training on Sundays, so my muscles are usually ready for something brutal on Monday. Maybe I am just restless, looking for something each Sunday for programming. I like to know what’s coming and hate waiting until late the night before. I like feeling settled on Sunday night with a solid expectation of how Monday will begin. And it needs to begin well.

Even more so, these days Hero WODs get me thinking about the frontline heroes that are working for us every day in risky situations. I am focused and in the zone. I want to start the new week kicking some butt. Hero WODS always give me a sense of accomplishment.

I will keep on with the Heroes. Mark Klement and Hey Buddy are on deck for future Mondays. I’ll continue through the yearly completion of Murph on Memorial Day.

After that is summer and anyone’s guess.

perspective

Special Deliveries

May 5, 2020 2chicksandapen

I am a huge Amazon fan. Like, huge. Maybe too big.

Me and Amazon go back a long way. I peeked in my decades-old email inbox and saw my oldest email from Amazon.com is from 2003 when I had a baby registry there. I know I was a customer years before that though. I loved Amazon when they just sold books and spending 25 bucks to get super saver shipping was the coolest. Prime wasn’t even a thing.

I loved Amazon when it was losing money and people didn’t think it would survive. (Yes, there was a time when Amazon did not make money!) I was a college student then, busy falling in love with knowledge and reading and all that nonsense, when Amazon was the place for all my little philosophy and poetry tomes, long before Amazon baby registries.

I do know that Amazon isn’t everything. Over the years I have learned to seek out and shop small businesses when I can. Local bookstores, hardware stores, boutiques…I try to shop them often. But still, there are some times when Amazon’s selection and even price and return policy can’t be matched. (Not to mention you can shop them in your pajamas when you just think of something you need and voila! It’s there in 2 days.)

Of course, the pandemic has caused retail pandemonium. Even more people are shopping online. Delivery services are taxed to the max. Amazon didn’t escape this fate. My little reliable Prime symbol doesn’t even mean 2-day shipping anymore. Only “essential items” from these categories would be delivered quickly: baby products, health and household, beauty and personal care, grocery, industrial and scientific, and pet supplies. Everything else was in slow motion.

I guess this didn’t really sink in for me for a while. Here I am, spending most of my time at home, many businesses closed. Times have truly, deeply changed, both in a global sense and in a personal sense. I’ve been using my hour once spent commuting to the gym and work to read every morning. Of the many changes I’ve taken on, that has been a bright spot. But, my book supply was small, and reading for nearly an hour each day has me flying through books quickly. A visit to the local Barnes & Noble isn’t an option. Libraries are closed (?!?!?) So, of course, I ordered a couple of titles from Amazon.

FOUR WEEKS.

It was going to take four weeks! And one is a best seller! Geez. Another sign of the times.

I see Amazon trucks scurrying everywhere through traffic and their delivery people running up to doors. I know people are working hard. I’ll survive.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I was granted a hundred dollars from our school PTA to spend on classroom supplies earlier this week. I had to spend it quickly, so I just piled a bunch of colored copy paper in my Amazon cart and hit order now. I knew we didn’t have any at work and I knew we wouldn’t need it anytime soon, since we won’t have students in the building until the fall. It was just a simple thing to stock up on and Amazon usually has decent prices. I clicked it and forgot about it.

Then, VOILA. What shows up on my doorstep in less than 24 hours? The 8 reams of paper I didn’t really need for months, in a large box marked “HEAVY.”

I was shocked. Really?

Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for the books I ordered weeks ago, the items I truly needed now – or even last month.

I guess this probably sounds quibblesome to many. A definite first-world problem. Maybe it’s selfish of me to wish I could have somehow deemed my books essential items. After all, they are what I am using to work on my mindset and my future wealth. I get that books aren’t at the top of many people’s priority lists. Screens are more an essential for most these days, and others have said that focusing long enough to read in these troubled times is impossible. But for me, books have been a saving grace. And for those who are isolating alone, I can imagine books can be essential for some.

Still, I can wait. What was sillier to me was my heavy, cumbersome box of Atomic Orange copy paper, which I didn’t need anytime soon, zipped to my home address like it was on the Pony Express. Can I find a way to trade my priorities? Or somehow push the paper down the delivery list so the urgently essential items (whatever those are) can get to their destinations more quickly?

But in the end, who decides what is essential? And why? It’s different around the world, and not without controversy. Amazon, who started out in the book industry, now has books as non-essential items. Amazon, you’ve forgotten where you came from! (The conspiracy theorist in me says, of course they don’t want us to read! Reading means we can think for ourselves! They’re trying to limit our access to information. And did I mention that the LIBRARIES ARE CLOSED??!?)

Calm down, Beth. Really though, it’s probably not much more than another shuffling sign of the times in the age of corona. And it brings a new appreciation for the conveniences I took for granted. And a whole lot of neon-colored paper collecting dust in the cupboard.

perspective

Diamond or Volcano?

May 2, 2020 2chicksandapen

I don’t know anyone who has escaped the pressures of the pandemic. Frontline workers putting their lives on the line every day. Parents who are trying to work from home while managing kids, maybe even multiple kids, who themselves are trying to manage learning from home. Those same kids who have to try to learn while so many of the best parts of school (friends, fun events, recess) are taken away for now. Adults who can’t work, who have lost jobs, who are facing bills with less or no income. People being abused who are now quarantined with their abusers. People who are anxious, fearful, in despair.

After weeks of staying mostly at home, seeing mostly my family and a familiar four walls, I am restless, tired, often irritable. I am worn out on eating well some days. I have less motivation to exercise. I am quite aware that my problems are much smaller and more manageable than most.

I said in one of my early pandemic posts that this crisis will bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. A friend recently shared a smart post that said that in this time, jerks are becoming bigger jerks. Compassionate people are becoming more compassionate. Our essences are expressing themselves. Which are you?

We all have our ups and downs. Good days and bad. Some of us have bigger problems looming than others. I get that.

Still, there really isn’t an excuse to be unkind.

I thought to myself, we are all under pressure.

Some of the most beautiful and most deadly things in the world are both born of great pressure. Diamonds developed when pressure gets extremely intense. Diamonds, something many consider extremely precious. Something that sparkles. Something we cherish. Have you seen diamonds coming out these days? Kindness? Generosity? Understanding? Even curiosity? A willingness to listen? Changing of minds?

At the same time, pressure between tectonic plates can collide and erupt into a volcano, spewing lava and destruction for miles and miles. Something we run from, something many of us might fear. Have you seen any examples of volcanoes around, spewing negativity and lack of understanding? We’ve all seen them. Angry protesters screaming at medical workers, police. Nasty commenters belittling people instead of listening to their sincere concerns.

The 2 chicks have embraced “choose daily” from nearly the start of this blog. I don’t know if anyone will get through this pandemic without cracks. But instead of a crack that leads to hurting and destroying everything and everyone around, can you choose a crack that makes you more beautiful?

fitness and nutrition

Fat Fit Frantic

May 1, 2020 2chicksandapen

The corona saga is winding down. Thank goodness, right? Well I’ve been getting used to the slower pace life. How will I reacclimate?

The first thing to come to terms with is I’m still sorta fit also kinda fat. Yup that slower paced life, the candy treats, the boredom munchies, the easy cherry-picker workouts all catch up to you at some point.

Don’t get me wrong I was physically active most days but not all days. However, I was fanatical about working out pre-corona so I’m feeling the extra jiggle here and there or let’s just say everywhere!

Hmmmm, now it’s time to make the plan of re-entry. Things won’t be the same at my gym with all the 6 feet rules. Will everyone return? Will the vibe be the same or will people act paranoid? Will I even want to go back? Is it time for a change?

I’ve been sitting on this decision for a few days maybe even weeks. What makes it harder is so many folks have mixed emotions about stay home, go support local businesses and so on. When I re-enter I don’t want to be bogged down with the woes of people who are grumpy at politicians, their financial status or just careless with their germs. So I’m at a crossroad. I just want to workout without drama. Will that be possible?

A big fat crossroad. A fork in the road. No real right or wrong answer just different paths. This re-entry has been making my mind race. I miss my friends terribly but can do without negativity which leans me towards wait and see.

Stay tuned for my updates on re-entry to society as I navigate yet more unpredictable areas of life.