I bought this hat from a band we saw in Steamboat just a couple weeks ago. The band was great and they gave us a deal on the hats. I remember then feeling like this phrase hunker down was going to take on more meaning in my life than I fully understood at the time. The corona virus had hit China and there was fear brewing about it coming our way. And now it has arrived with vengeance and we are all called to hunker down.

I see this opportunity to hunker down as a gift of time without our busy school and sports schedules; we have this abundance of time. I realize due to fear of illness coupled with financial stress it is hard to see the time as a gift. We all worry about every cough now and wonder what the financial impact will be in the weeks to come. I worry about our parents and I really miss seeing them. I worry what our exit strategy is from quarantine. We worry about the medical personal on the front line. There is plenty to worry about. The uncertainty can be completely consuming. We need to be informed but we also need to pause and choose how to spend the extra time we all have been given.

I’ve been watching the tv show Grace and Frankie. The show makes me laugh out loud which feels good. I’ve started a new book called Ordinary Grace. We’ve been doing yard work, taking extra time caring for our animals and each other. And it feels good.

I’m not trying to gloss over the destruction of this virus but I am trying to stay focused on what I can control. We are heeding Italy’s warning and hunkering down. I am meditating longer sending healing light out to the world. My heart does break for everyone personally affected by the virus and for all the disappointment over our lives basically being canceled - for the graduates, the athletes, the brides, to the grandparent’s 90th birthday party. There is plenty of disappointment and sadness and fear. The only thing I can control is how I react to it. I continue to practice loving kindness meditation so I can react with love and kindness to all. I’m taking more time to write, which is what I want to do everyday, but often don’t have the time. And today we are going to play some games of Rumik which we haven’t played in a long time.

I wish everyone health and love during this unprecedented time in our lives. Let’s hunker down with love.