I cannot put my finger exactly on what is going on in our world today. It is perplexing and far stretching. People are being advised to order now for Christmas and things still may not be in. Shelves are empty in stores on random things. Help wanted signs are in almost every other window you pass, and hours are being shortened in restaurants and stores because of low staffing.
There is an overall feeling of intensity and negativity when out in a crowd. It's like we have been jabbed in so many directions we are not quite sure what to make of things and when to breathe out a sigh of relief. Here are some things I have been told over the past weeks about the frustration with the shortages.
"I can only get beef jerky now in spicy, and it's tearing my stomach up!"
"I looked everywhere, and I cannot find the honey whiskey I like to drink."
"Oh my goodness, it is teepee night for my son's homecoming and toilet paper is sold out all over town. How are they going to roll the houses?"
"Where are we going to shop for Christmas if nothing is coming in that we are ordering?"
I saw a funny post on social media that mentioned resorting to using a corn cob as an alternative. And being that the mail is still somewhat messed up, we likely won't be able to resort to the Sears and Roebuck catalog. I chimed in that we need to all plant a garden to which the response was that she had one of those but needed to learn to can.
And that is when I realized we indeed do need to learn to can. I do. I need to learn to put things up for a rainy day the way my grandmothers' generation learned to do in hard times. I need to plow up my soil again and start back planting and planning. I need to put ordering from foreign areas out of my mind and visit the local mom and pop establishments.
Last year due to the pandemic, we decided as a family to make Christmas gifts or purchase garage sale or second hand items. One of my sons and his fiancé cooked gumbo, etouffe, and shrimp creole and froze them for us and his brothers. It was the gift that kept giving. I have a daughter-in-law who paints and one who works with flowers, so the creativity blossomed and Christmas was warm and cozy with smiles from ear to ear.
I can't help but continue to have the Grinch pop into my head. Not so much the antagonist, but the townsmen who did not let the absence of these things taken disturb their celebration. As much as this may be some plan or conspiracy to undermine the economy or government or politics, we still have the choice to rest in the simple things.
I will likely not be this understanding when stuck in traffic on 190, or stopped dead in the curves on Lee Road while debris trucks continue to load fallen trees while who knows has been hired to direct traffic with no knowledge of how vital it is to get the Slow and Stop signs correct. I will not feel this way when that one thing I need is not in the stores and once again I am having to reroute. Or when I have to buy another COVID home test kit because I am allergic to Ragweed. And when that happens hopefully one of you will be nearby to say, "Hey, chill out and rest in the simple things."
If we can't keep each other strong in this chaos and centered on what is important, whatever is driving the negative robs us all of our joy!
