It was 18 1/2 years ago I gave birth to my first son. The day was beautiful and so was my new baby boy. I had, what most mothers have on that day, a mix of emotions. You are filled with joy and happiness, and you are also scared to death to screw things up, you are so filled with hope that your child will grow in a world better than the one you grew up in and have a life that is blessed so much more than you could ever imagine.
One week to the day after my son’s birth, the world that was so filled with hope a few short days ago, changed. The first tower was hit as I sit there watching the morning news and nursing my son. Then, the second tower was attacked. I knew at that moment things I hoped for my child’s future were all changed.
Since that time, nothing has ever been the same as it was before. My second son was born in 2004. My sons have never known the freedom of growing up in America the way I experienced it. My sons have never known the experience of not being tracked every second of their life. No. They grew up in a world filled with fear. They grew up in a world where everything was done via computer, laptop, and cell phones. They gre
w up in a world where everyone’s whereabouts are accounted for at every turn. I wished many days that they could know what it was like to grow up in an unhurried world. A world where neighbors helped neighbors. A world where you got to know people by being outside and talking and being kind, not by virtually meeting them on an app through a phone.
Along with the fear that 9/11 brought to us, he grew up in a school system that has been filled with school shootings, drills to lock-down in case of attack. He lived through the “London Bombings”, “Bird Flu”, and “Hurricane Katrina”. He has also lived through the most tumultuous presidential election and impeachment process our country has seen to date. Now, he is experiencing life in quarantine.
Yet, through all that is happening, he keeps an optimistic viewpoint. He said to me the other day the best part of being quarantined is slowing down. He is enjoying time with this brother. He is enjoying going on hikes with me. He is enjoying sitting outside and listening to his music not feeling like he is missing something by staying home.
Maybe this quarantine isn’t easy on many. It came due to a horrendous virus that is taking many people from loved ones. Perhaps it is making many nervous. However, like my son, I choose to see the good instead of the bad. First, it is good for the earth, the dolphins are coming back to the canals in Venice, and smog and pollution are disappearing at rapid rates. Second, it is good for families. Sure it is hard if you are a person who is now laid off, but so many of us have wished for a long time to have more time at home with our kids, our loved ones to just enjoy the day. So many times we wish we had time to do nothing and then at some point do things we would like to do. Well, here is the time. The time is now. I see families walking, kids riding bikes, playing hopscotch and jump rope outside in their driveways. I see fathers running and playing with kids. This downtime is bringing us back to what is important. Time with family and enjoying life without the rush and pressure. Third, it is a time we can sit and truly relax with nowhere to be, we can take the time to just be quiet and hear the whisper of that voice inside us. The time is good for our soul. 
Until next time…. take this time and do something that makes you happy, take time to recreate yourself or learn something new, spend time with family, live in the moment, and as always . . .
Keep Sparkling~
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