Be Brave

I hope you and your family are well. I hope you are safe and warm. I hope you have been able to provide for your needs and wants. I hope you can reach out to your friends and neighbors and offer comfort and help (at a distance).
I remember many years ago, being warned that things would happen in our future, that we needed to prepare ourselves for uncomfortable situations. Did I listen?
Sometimes, when it was convenient, I listened. I prepared when my babies were little and my husband was away during theViet Nam War, and then, when I was left alone to raise them. Well, forty years later I decided it was probably too old to move across the country to store there. Have you ever tried to cook forty year old pinto beans? Now I wish I had updated instead of tossing my stash. But I was secure for forty years.
I didn’t consider myself a hoarder. I was being prudent, a girl scout! I was prepared. In our current situation, with empty shelves, how much dare we stock up on? A day’s worth? A week? How many times do I want to eat oatmeal?  I know that when we come out of this, I will slowly restock my pantry. In the meantime, I will learn to enjoy making bread again, I will, I will.  I still have a jar of peanut butter.
My current mantra is If I can’t find what I want, I will want what I find. It makes the meals interesting, and induces creativity. In some small ways some of us can think of this as an adventure. Do everything you can to stay healthy, find things to make you smile, read a book, write a poem.
 “Promise me you’ll always remember that you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Christopher Robin

 “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” Mary Tyler Moore