Slow Motion at Lightning Speed

Slow Motion at Lightning Speed
            The news of the world, already changing radically by the day, has now escalated to major news breaks by the hour, by the minute.
            Health and safety orders to stay home except for essential outings means days studying at home for students. Work days spent at home for some workers. A shift to being unemployed in the blink of an eye for many others. Older neighbors used to an occasional outing or visitor being more isolated.
            The world evolves by the second as the pandemic takes hold.
            And yet. Having to stay home forces a slowing of pace. How do entire households, used to being busy in several different places, occupy endless days together at home?
            Keeping a special needs family member engaged and on a schedule is not easy under the best of circumstances. I sit on our front porch with spring daffodils blooming, reading a book with my autistic son for the first time in ages.
            As a break from work projects and family care, I fill a container for neighbor kids to water front garden plants from. Time shifts to slow mode. Sun shining, big clouds overhead, one child pours a pail of water into the pail of another, the next child pouring it into a third pail before the water is poured on flowers. It is a game of unspoken rules, made up on the spot, like the games I used to play with my brothers.
            Back in the house, the TV announces more breaking news. In the hour I’ve spent outside, the world seems to have spun a mind-boggling ten revolutions’ worth of news.
            But there is still the sun, and the clouds, and the ability to get fresh air on a walk with family. We don’t have to travel far to get a dose of nature therapy.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Buena Vista Park Stroll, introduces one of many parks in San Francisco that offer a fresh air and greenery break without leaving the city
            The long list of Hikes can be found on the Quick View Hike List and on the main Hikes page. All past Insights posts can also be viewed in the Insights/Hike Update News archives.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Please feel free to share.
New this week:
Hike Notes 103: Buena Vista Park Stroll