Looking for beauty in everyday life

Life is starting up again after the COVID-19 pause of 2020.  Despite the rising case numbers, people have begun to attend events and hold family parties, weddings and funerals. School sports are in full swing. Busy is making a comeback. 

One thing that the various shut downs did last year was encourage people to slow down. Sports and after school activities, and school itself, come to that, were cancelled. My business slowed to almost a stop. My husband worked from home, which added 2 plus hours of free time to his day by eliminating a 50 mile each way commute. We found ourselves spending more time together and frequently eating and entertaining outdoors. I remember the summer of 2020 as being mellow and sunny, although I'm sure it rained because the grass stayed green into the fall. I noticed the birds and animals that visited our garden and, with fewer clients to photograph, I took more pictures of the natural world around me. 

We were fortunate: we were employed and able to work from home. Apart from necessary trips to the grocery store, we could stay safe and insulated from the chaos of essential work and overcrowded hospitals. Zoom calls with clients and family kept us in touch while minimizing contact. I am keeping a journal of the days of COVID-19, which I hope will provide some historical insight when all this is over. I am not sorry to be back to school sports and in-person networking but, as fall approaches,  I hope I will continue to appreciate blue skies, sunsets and humming birds on my Rose of Sharon plant (pictured) a little more than before. Because life is short and beauty is all around us, if we just take the time to look for it!