Well.

Well. There are upsides (I love having everyone home. More time for puzzles and books. I can get caught up on my work. I can work on projects I never have time for. We’re all healthy. We have a great home. We have plenty of supplies. Our district sent home chromebooks with each kid so they can stay up with their schoolwork. I’m grateful we can connect to so many people digitally. I have a lump in my throat for all the good that surfaces during any kind of tragedy: humans are wonderful). There are challenges (Being teacher to four different kids at the same time is no joke. Everyone home is really loud. There are a lot of feelings, understandably, that I’m trying to help young hearts process. I still feel the need to grocery shop my way through the pandemic— do we have enough milk? We all miss our normal communities in person. There were some fun things that have been cancelled or postponed and while we support it, we feel disappointed. Surprisingly, there still isn’t as much time as I think to do everything.) It might feel wonderful or challenging depending on each moment and I’m making space for that to be okay. I’m also making space to appreciate some of the stillness and peace that comes from everything shutting down. In art, we use negative space (the empty space around something) to make the important stuff (the subject, the focal point) stand out. I feel like that’s happening in my life and I’m grateful for it. I’m not anxious to fill it all up. I want some room to breathe, to let that quiet air just be still. So. That’s where I’m at today. I don’t know how long this will last, but in the meantime, I will keep posting art in the hopes that it makes your upsides and your challenges just a little bit better. As one who paints so many human connection points, I feel so grateful that my art can keep connecting me with other humans and we can walk our paths together. All my best to you and yours ❤️❤️(ps huge shout outs to the healthcare professionals, the teachers, the internet technicians, the delivery people, the grocery store clerks… so, so many who are doing super-human jobs keeping our world turning at this time. Thank you all!)