Some time ago, a friend said my quarantine hair reminded them of a nest of albino sparrows exploding over my head.
Since my head literally has been exploding routinely since my last post on October 6, 2020, I am happy to have a poetic version of this visual. I had a temporary reprieve on Jan 20th and I do breathe a bit deeper in general. An adult is, at last, in charge. But, inheriting NO federal program for vaccinations and mutant viruses more transmittable? Well, a mess is a mess and it is not solved overnight. My governor has always been an adult but even this phase is straining his competence.
I was told by a charming PT in a virtual appointment that in order to improve my balance I should focus not on the ground (which I routinely do) but about six feet in front of me. So, that is my mandate for 2021. Focus on six feet ahead and not an inch further.
In Massachusetts today, January 27, 2021, folks my age, 75+ are eligible to make a vaccination appointment starting Feb 1st when we are eligible to receive vaccinations. Sounds good? Yeah, it does. But, so far, out of the gate, there’s no appointments available to schedule. And, I’m good on the tech side so it’s not tech illiteracy as I’m sure other seniors are experiencing.
A woman in Florida or California or New York, I can’t remember which, but all these states are having issues with making vaccination appointments, said, “I don’t mind waiting my turn. I just want to know I have a turn.”
Yep. The two 75+ folks I know who have received the vaccine, one in Florida, one in California, both received theirs by sheer luck, not organized programs.
So, I temper my anxiety about this chaos by realizing that it is also not entirely sure what difference it makes whether I am vaccinated or not. Yes, I would be immunized myself but I would still be able to transmit the virus to others. So, actually, seeing people? This is obviously dependent on a much wider swath of people being vaccinated.
I am more quarantined today than I was in the spring of 2020. I no longer go inside anywhere. It is a bit less claustrophobic because I do grocery store pick up and unlike the spring, there are now daily available timeslots. My library is now available for pick-up of books but wasn’t in the spring, and Amazon is back to Prime 2 day delivery which was not possible in spring. So, that is my version of looking on the positive six feet ahead for this week.
I also discovered that my passport fabric designed several years ago when I realized my world was narrowing at supersonic speeds, can be made into soft, snuggly throw blankets that make me smile as I read or watch TV or binge watch or rip out seams of a sewing project gone wrong. I made one for my 50+-year-old niece and one of the stamps is from a trip we made to Europe when she was 16! I made another for my grand niece for her high school graduation this spring. She has applied to colleges in the US as well as Europe. So, my gift is of hope for travel as well as memory.
This made me think I could design similar gifts for others. Most have passports and perhaps their travel starved pandemic life might enjoy a gift of a throw blanket to keep them company in the months ahead. So, I made a way to do it in my store. I sew them myself and can embroider a personal message if desired. It is not an impulse gift because it takes about a month from receipt of your stamps (Color copies) to designing the stamps into a fabric file, ordering the fabric, and then actually sewing it.
Custom Gift | Passport Memories
I used to travel beyond walks in my condo complex! Two years ago, I created a design from my old passport stamps dating back to 1956 when I was 11 years old.
I have made other products with this fabric in my two years of learning to sew and whenever I use one of them, I remember my old confident life and it doesn’t depress me!
I can’t ask more of creativity than that. Hope you are able to look six feet ahead without vertigo wherever you are.
