Zoom Zoom Zoom

What would I do without Zoom meetings these days? Where would I be? Sometimes it feels as if I am leaving one meeting, only to prepare for the next one! 

When I was working as an online support teacher, I hated Zoom meetings. I would much rather visit a  student in person than over a Zoom call. I even disliked staff meetings. There was something so awkward about everyone's faces up close, staring at screens, while the presenter was talking. 

Fast forward about four years, and my opinion has changed. As frustrating and imperfect as it is at times,  I am honestly  thankful to meet with others online. With so many  hesitant about meeting in each others' homes or in offices, and with limited travel, Zoom has definitely filled a need. 

Thanks to Zoom, I can attend our homegroup where we laugh, discuss a video, and pray together. 

Thanks to Zoom, I can learn how to craft a rule of life, from a Renovare webinar, along with people from all over the world. 

Thanks to Zoom, I can listen to an encouraging discussion on keeping our country strong and free. 

Thanks to Zoom, I can join a small group of writers, reading and listening to each other. 

Thanks to Zoom, I can be a part of a Mighty Network of writers who meet weekly. 

Thanks to Zoom, I can participate in a prayer retreat. 

Thanks to Zoom, I and my siblings can celebrate my mom's 85th birthday 'together'. 

No, Zoom isn't ideal. I am missing my friends, my family, my freedoms (to be honest), and I probably am going to burn out on Zoom at some point. But at this point in time, this month, this week, today... I'm feeling grateful for Zoom! 

How about you? Are you a Zoomer?  

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Social Options in a Physical Distancing Time

"Come outside, R and M are here!" 

Now, those words from my hubby I haven't heard in a while! But it was true! We were graced with an IN REAL LIFE visit! Some friends of ours drove up to our house simply to have a little (physically distant, as per the rules) surprise visit.  We had no choice but to chat outside. Unfortunately, the wind was strong and cold today, so it was a short but sweet get together. 

Have you been able to meet up with any friends or family while keeping your mandated distance doing it?

If that's not possible, here are a few face to face social network options that have worked for me lately. I've added a few apps to my phone and iPad that I will probably delete (or use less frequently) once this is over.

House Party - My sister recommended this one. This one is easy to use and fun. The drawback is that if you don't 'lock' your room, others can jump in. That's the 'house party' component.  These could be your friends OR friends of friends, so that might mean you would potentially not know everyone in the room. However, when it happened to us, it turned out to be fun. My two sisters and I were chatting when suddenly two of our adult children popped in and we had a great visit, playing Draw Something together. So, just remember, if you're having a serious private conversation, LOCK your room, just like in real life, if you don't want unexpected guests! Or use a different app!

Marco Polo - This is one of my favorites. It's like texting, except it's video, so you leave little video messages. You create your groups (one or more people to join you). It's safe and easy to use. You can easily delete the videos if you want to, and there are fun options like funny voice changes and speeding up the speech. Sometimes it's nice to see the person who's texting. This app works well for that.

Zoom - I feel like  this is the mature, older sibling of House Party. It feels serious and professional, maybe because it's the app I used when I was working as a support teacher. Easy to use and you can opt to turn off your video (for those bad hair days)  and turn off your mic (if you have little ones making lots of noise in the background). It's also got  'raise your hand' and 'applaud' features. It's definitely a winner.

FaceTime - a well known and good, simple option for two people, which is how I use it. I think it has the capability to include more than two people, but I have no experience with that. I use this to chat with my 83 year old widowed mother. 

I'm not too sure I like that my time spent engaged with my phone has increased these past couple of weeks. It's so easy to become addicted, even if for good reasons. It starts with a video chat and ends with scrolling through social media.   I think my eyes have become more sensitive to screen lighting, so I'm going to have to cut back a bit!

Have you found that you are needlessly online more than usual (or too much)  during this time?

Five Good Things

There is much today to be to be saddened about, to be frustrated about, to be anxious about, and yes, even to fear. I could probably write a long post about all of those things. But... I'm not going to, at least not today!

Instead, I'm going to think of five good things that have come out of social distancing and the other circumstances that have arisen out of the CoVid19 pandemic that we are all now facing.

1. I've become more appreciative of store employees. For some of them, their job description has changed and they are managing line ups of potentially anxious people in mostly a friendly manner. I've stayed away from stores (many have closed now)  more than usual lately, so heading to Costco this morning suddenly made this CoVid19 threat feel a whole lot more real.

We waited 40 min to enter the store. Implemented: Social distancing, cart handle wiping,
and a minimal number of shoppers allowed in at one time 

2. I'm learning new skills online, like video editing. Mind you, I'm talking about simply cutting a video up into smaller files so they will send! But maybe I'll learn how to add music too!

3. I've sent my  almost 3 yo grandson a Storytime with Oma episode. I talked to him, and read a book aloud, showing him the pictures. I realize there are MANY book reading sites online, but when OMA does it, it becomes more special. Apparently, he enjoyed it! I might bring my puppets out for the next episode ;)

Back a week or so when we could still visit regularly!

4. I've connected with a few neighbours that, honestly, I hardly know except to chat with over the back fence each gardening season (starts in May usually) or to buy honey or eggs from. This month I've had a simple chat on the phone to check in on a widow in my neighbourhood, and dropped off some fresh baked goods. I know it's important and necessary and simply the right thing to do. We all need to know someone out there is watching out for us, especially if we're elderly and housebound. I've have to push myself to do this, because I generally don't tend to go looking for strangers to visit with. But it's been good. At this time, we really can't visit in person, except to stand outside the door a safe distance away.

5. I'm showing my face a little more online. I usually like to stay quite anonymous or at least I don't put my face out there too much. But now I'm using FB Messenger Video, FaceTime, and Marco Polo more often. I love to text, but at this time in history, it just makes sense to see the faces of the people I'm communicating with. And I think that's a good thing for now! Makes us all feel a sense of community a bit more, don't you think?

What good things have you noticed in this unique time we are living through right now?

N is for Night Terrors

Most of the time when our little toddler grandson stays over our house, he sleeps soundly through the entire night. A couple of times, however, I have awoken in the middle of the night to hear him crying.

I turn on the hall light and head downstairs to his room. There he is, sniffling and crying. I pick him up, wrap him in a blanket and settle into a chair with him. Rocking back and forth, I hold him tight and hum quietly. I tell him Oma loves him and Jesus loves him, too. I sit in silence with him. His breathing slows and deepens and I know he's falling back to sleep.

When I'm pretty sure he is calm and content, I slowly lower him back into his bed.

It's inevitable that we will have difficult experiences in our lives that steal our peace. Those can be very dark times. Sharing our fears and finding consolation in our friends, family, and faith can bring much comfort.

New Year, New Word, More Me

So, the Christmas season has officially come and gone. Ordinary Time begins.

 The  remnants of my decorations include the pointsettia plants I received, which are still thriving. I usually let them hang around until  they drop off their leaves once and for all from lack of watering ;)  As well, I have some greenery in our planters outside, which bring beauty to an otherwise drab looking entrance. In the spring I'll deal with those! I do keep up some indoor winter decor until the spring season arrives. I enjoy having a little seasonal decor in my home.

Along with the new year comes thoughts of a new word or phrase for the year. I've pondered this for a while and have decided that my OneWord this year will be community. I feel that that word encompasses a lot. For me, it represents my intention to  get outside of my head more often (hello Enneagram 5!) and put some more action behind my thoughts and ideas. I'm going to keep a journal of all the ways that I have participated in 'community' in 2019. Will it change my life for the better? Will I become more of who God created me to be? We shall see. I don't want a NEW ME, I want to be MORE ME. And of course, that sometimes means making uncomfortable choices. Leaving the security of the comfort zone and stepping out. Small ways and small steps count!

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Do you have a focus for 2019?