We met last weekend at our daughter's house to celebrate our family's August birthdays. We met on the back patio, maintained social distance and wore masks most of the time. We celebrated my 80th birthday, our son-in-law's 51st birthday and our grandson's 18th. I got to wear a sparkly crown with an "80" on it. It was obvious that our six-year-old grand daughter coveted the crown, so she got to take it home.
All of us have been more or less stuck in the house since mid-March because of the pandemic. My husband and I, both at high risk for bad outcomes if we catch the coronavirus, take all kinds of precautions. I would love to have short hair again, but I wouldn't feel safe going to my salon, so I'm stuck, for now, with witch hair. I would love to go to the grocery store, wander the aisles at my leisure and pick out my own produce. Instead, we order groceries and they are delivered. Most of the time it works out fine, but I wasn't happy when we were charged the "sale price" of $2.50 for a rotting cantaloupe. I complained, but got no response.
I haven't been blogging because (1) our lives are pretty much contained within our four walls, and (2) I have been taking an online course to improve my quality of life despite having a chronic lung disease. The Pulmonary Wellness Foundation (PWF) in New York City offers a challenging 6-week pulmonary rehabilitation course free of charge. (Donations are accepted.) The daily sessions require a commitment of close to an hour. There are two motivational talks by Noah Greenspan, the PWF director, a "breathing, balance, flexibility and strength session" led by a variety of practitioners (instructors in yoga, tai-chi and qigong, physical therapists, and a Bollywood dancer) and finally a daily "walk" which starts out at 4 minutes and gradually increases to 30 minutes by Day 42. I have stuck with it. Tomorrow is the beginning of the sixth week. I can honestly say I feel more energetic since starting the course and plan to maintain the habit of daily exercise once the course is over.
