On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
As I said in my last post, plans are made to be changed. We planned to have lunch on Tuesday with friends we had not seen in 4 months. Well, Monday morning my husband woke up with a sniffleszx and sneezing. Of course, my first concern was is he coming down with the virus? I let our friends know we wouldn’t be meeting for lunch, because and I am not sure how this happened, but we are all in THAT age group.
He spent a lot of time outdoors over the weekend, tidying up the yard and installing a backup camera on the truck. It took three mowings to get the grass down. I decided to treat his sniffles as allergy and after two days he began to clear up.
Our lawn a combination of grass and weeds looks much better!
Sunday we attended church. North Carolina ordered churches to shut down (Unlike Florida which suggested it and the churches willingly complied) so our church began to hold drive-in services in March. I was looking forward to seeing friends and curious how it would be done.
Our sanctuary sits on a hill with parking on a lower level. A tent was erected with a pulpit. The congregation tuned their radios to a specific Fm station .
One of our members brought a visitor, and I must say the visitor was very well behaved.
Overall it has been a good first week back. My husband’s health and energy, aside from sniffles, has been great and he has enjoyed getting resettling chores done. Thursday he replaced the front brakes on the truck and still felt well enough to join friends for a night of card playing. I treasure the good days.
In a matter of three weeks, the county has gone from less than five cases of Covid to over 80. I sense a level of anxiety and resentment in their social media posts. The first case in the county was a visitor from New York and now the summer people and part-time residents (Like us) are invading .
I understand how they feel. South Florida’s Covid cases soared as residents from New York fled there to escape the virus and its consequences. I rarely see a New York license plate in our Florida community but I saw two within a week. I admit to feeling a moment of resentment. Our area had been doing well without these “infectors”. Awful, right? I confessed my unkindness to God and asked forgiveness and for my heart to change.
And then Sunday arrived our church was finally allowed to gather. As we waited for service to start, one of the greeters escorted a woman inside and introduced her to the pastor. I made note of where she chose a seat. It was on the other side of the sanctuary.
I felt compelled to speak words of welcome to the visitor and as this was to be our last Sunday before returning to the mountains, it was now or never. I made my way across the room, being mindful of social distancing and began a conversation. I felt a connection and hoped she would choose to attend our church She shared that she had only been living in the area a year. Of course, I asked where she was from…New York. And not just New York, but NYC.
God definitely has a sense of humor as he works on teaching me to love as He loves.
This is from one of the albums I played with my children. I think I am going to re-listen to them. Simple truths.
Ok, the trip down memory lane with the kid’s praise album made my heart ache a little for bygone days. My son was my instant gratification child. I not only played this song, I would sing the chorus to him as well. I think the message remains relevant and it is fun!
We rescheduled our lunch plans with our friends for today. Both my husband and myself have been checking our temperatures just in case our supposition that allergies caused the sniffles is wrong.
After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience. Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites, Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix
In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.
My 2019 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.
Old Things R New 
All over the world, we share the same sense of happiness and the same sense of sorrow. It’s the bits in between where if only we could agree, life would be so much better for all the people all over the world.
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Genial disagreement is good, makes one think. This other stuff, not so much.
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I think the patience song applies to getting older as well as the young. Especially when my mind and hands don’t communicate well.
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Great Post…I love those kid songs too.
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I love reading your blog, Onisha, it covers so many things I can associate with. The boxer dog was a bonus this week. I could go on, but my eyes have been playing up a bit the last few days and they are tired now. Please excuse me.
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Danny, don’t you think that regardless of where we live, we share similar challenges and joys? The boxer belongs to the jeep driver’s daughter and she was dog sitting. She said she had to bring him to church or she wouldn’t have a house left when she returned! Thanks for stopping by. Hope your eyes feel better soon.
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