~the virus won't last forever, it only seems like it will~

And so if a picture is worth a thousand words, well then this photo has a story to tell.

Earlier this afternoon Mike and I had the conversation that we often have.
Perhaps you have it at your house as well.
You know, it's the one that goes like this~

"What are we going to do for supper tonight?"

Usually, well at least when the world hasn't gone crazy, we end up just going out to eat.
As a matter of fact, with only the two of us at home it seems to be the best thing to do.
That was last month.
Times have changed.

I looked at the counter and saw the 3 potatoes that had been there for the past week or so. 
3 potatoes that, under normal circumstances,  I'd have probably tossed out by the weekend because they were ready to sprout.
As of today they hadn't sprouted yet and were still very nice looking.
I made the suggestion that we boil them and make hash browns with eggs for supper. 
So we did and they tasted pretty dang good.

Times have changed.
We can't waste food, partly because it's expensive and partly because the stores are out of many items.  Since both of us are doing our best to practice this new thing called social distancing, it will be quite a while before we eat out for supper again.

I thought of my mom as I grated those boiled potatoes into the cast iron skillet.
She was always good about stretching the meager ingredients of a meal so far that she would end up having enough left overs for the next day.  Lois Scott grew up in the Great Depression and she knew all too well what happens when times go crazy as they have now.  She learned the lessons of uncertainty first hand as a 12-year old girl growing up on the Kansas prairie. 

The Great Depression, with its accompanying tight times, didn't kill her.  Rather, it made her stronger.
My mom made it.
So will I and guess what?
So will you.

Times have changed.
Never did I think I would spend a spring break figuring out how to make a mask out of a t-shirt for my little granddaughter.  In all of my nearly 65 years I have never tackled something like that.  I wasn't sure if I could do it.  But you know what?  I figured out how to make one.  I don't know how much protection it will afford her from any sickness, but I feel better for having tried.  I taught her how to play with cans of food and build forts and towers with the things from the pantry shelf and how to color on the back side of a brown paper grocery bag.  It felt good to do something positive in a world that gets more scary by the moment.

Our story is no different than anyone else's.  We are all going through this uncertain time together.
All of us, the whole world, sits on the edge of our seat as we wait for word of how things are going.  As a nation, we worry about these uncertain times.  What will become of us?  Only the good Lord above knows that.

Times have changed.
We have to change with them.
I have this feeling that when we come out from this on the other side of the problem, that we all will be better for the experience. 
I realize how much I took for granted.
Perhaps you have learned the same about yourself.

Take care everyone.
Take heart.
The virus won't last forever.
It only seems like it will.