A friend of mine who teaches high school economics shared an idea with her students that continues to be in my head:

We are living through a time that future historians will study.

And that proposal was before the shelter-in-place orders, the protests, the murder hornets, or the economic crash.

Now I just hope there are still books in the future to read.

In the midst of this strange season, we also have just the regular seasons of the year. It is June (yes, June; I double-checked with Google, Siri, and a paper calendar) so summer is upon us. When I first moved to Portland, locals joked that summer didn’t start until July 5th, typically the first hot and sunny day. While summer is definitely more prominent in August and September, we get some sunny patches as early as May and June.

My biggest worry about Covid-19 was about being trapped inside for weeks or months. I was already going to be cut off from friends and family; to not get outside to run or walk was just beyond what I thought I could handle. Oregon’s guidelines have never gotten as strict as those in Spain, so I am outside almost every day once or twice, with the other 22 hours inside my apartment walls because science is real.

On sunny days, I love wandering my neighborhood and seeing how plants have changed or people have updated spaces on their home. My normal loop has a couple places where I can access a park that is less than a city block in size. A footwork path circles among four benches, and a few picnic tables line one side. There is no play equipment, and rarely any people. It is the perfect park for Covid-19. Plenty of space to lay out under the clouds with not a soul for at least 6 feet in all directions.

We are all trying to balance safe and sane in this season where very little in the world feels safe or sane. For me that means lots of walks, and the occasional lap through this sweet little park. I hope, dear reader, that you have the space and time to do what will keep you safe and sane.

Be good to you.

“We are the spark, that will light the fire that’ll burn the First Order down” (Poe Dameron, Star Wars: The Last Jedi). – #52sparks is my year-long writing series for 2020, based on an art prompt challenge. The spark that lights a fire to toast a marshmallow or to ravage a forest begins in the space of an inch. This series is to explore what hundreds of inches and words can do.