Islay...

It’s habit for me to check my calendar several times a day and it’s beyond odd to watch the plans our family had drift past unfulfilled. I should be in Scotland right now with the hubster. We were going to tour Islay and hit our favorite Scotch distilleries before moving back to the mainland where he’d go to a conference and spend his days talking about biomedical engineering while I tried to nail down my Patterson ancestry at the Genealogy Society in Edinburgh. For now we’re enjoying other adventures around Atlanta and the trip has a new home on the calendar. #PlansChange #FingersCrossed #IsleOfIslay

A New Season...

And just like that our kiddo is safe and sound in his new place in Indy, ready to take on the summer with family and friends. While I miss him like crazy and this house is WAY too quiet without him, I’m not sad. He’s earned this time to create, and take a few summer courses, and stare at the stars a bit. I’m proud that he’s independent and confident. And I'm glad we no longer "own" any storage units (we had four at the height of our move)! #NewSeasonOfLife

Twinning...

This is my mask making partner in crime and sweet friend Christi Opstad. She and I each hit the 1000 masks sewn mark this week as part of the service project work we're doing on behalf of our Daughters of the American Revolution chapter (as part of the larger national DAR project). Christi owns a business, is homeschooling in quarantine, manages her farm and staff and still finds time to sew and make instruction videos. She takes all of the incoming requests for masks and manages distribution like a pro. She's the purveyor of the ribbon and always has a smile on her face and I'm blessed to work alongside her. P.S. She also has great curls and sometimes people get us confused with one another. I can't think of a better person to be confussed with!  #PhiladelphiaWinn1000club  #CurlyGirls

Hard Things...

Vanderbilt Mansion, March 2020

It's getting hard around here. That gut wrenching, life has to move forward, he's got to go back to Indiana hard. For almost two months, time has felt limitless and I've stumbled around not knowing or caring too much about what day it was. Now there's a date on the calendar and I am hyper aware of every minute that's passing. 

Having our kiddo home for this quarantine has been such a blessing, a shiny silver lining in the middle of the mayhem. I was dreading missing summer with him but I know I've been given something far greater than a period of time between two calendar dates because this time has been different. We've had concentrated time as a family that we wouldn't have had with everyone running the 100 different ways our old lives demanded. This time has been good morning hugs, hot chocolate late nights, serious dinner conversations, ice cream runs, and sunny drives to nowhere. It’s been new music, old favorites, after dinner concerts, and dancing in the kitchen. It’s been game night with us losing to our ruthless teenager time and time again until we finally broke out Wii bowling. We’ve endured fraternity initiation week here, celebrated a birthday here, hidden Easter eggs here, taken college finals here, and nursed the broken heart that comes with saying goodbye to a high school sweetheart all right here.

I’m going to miss this kid something fierce when he leaves in thirteen days and I won’t sugar coat the fact that it might very well be worse than when he left for college. We moved from his childhood home the day after we dropped him off last fall and we started over here without memories of our family in this house. We’ve had a clean slate to create something new and quarantine has allowed us to do so in grand fashion without worrying about watching the clock the way we’ve had to with holiday breaks and a weekend visit. I have a ton of amazing memories now, all of them made right here so it should come as no surprise that my selfish heart already wants more. I know I’ll be counting the days until his next visit home.  #BuehlerLife

I'm Doing Just Sew...

We are well here in Buehlerland.  Staying busy.  Doing college online (the kiddo), going to work (the hubster).  Sewing (me). In fact, making masks has become my new mission in life.  When I first saw the news and heard there wasn't enough PPE for healthcare workers, I'm going to admit it passed over me.  When I saw it a second time, it caught my attention and I started having in depth conversations with people about 'just enough' purchasing and year end cost savings and risk assessment for various types of equipment.  They were clinical discussions and while I walked away understanding how there could be shortages, it was still removed from me.  Happening over there.  Not here.  And then the calls started coming in for handmade, homesewn facemasks.  Nurses, firemen, police, nursing home aides, vet techs, police, military, clerks at the gas station...  The calls came in from everywhere and it was right here.  HERE.  And it was real.  So I started sewing.  And before and ran out of supplies I determined NOT to run out so I waited an hour to get in the local fabric shop. An hour at the cutting table, and 30 minutes in line at the register but I was able to buy 62 yards of fabric and enough thread (I hope!) to sew 20 masks a day for the forseeable future because "20 a day keeps the virus away." 

The need is overwhelming and in addition to taking care of the healthcare workers we've committed to supporting, members of my sewing circle are now getting requests from all sides; parents, friends, extended family, neighbors, various essential workers not in the healthcare industry... we’ve gone from sewing for nurses to sewing for the world and that’s just fine. We're determined to sew for everyone!

Reach Out!

I'm hearing about how hard this is from a lot of folks. How fear and uncertainty and boredom, not from a lack of things to do but from a lack of knowing where to start, is creeping in and sometimes taking over. Whatever you're feeling, you ARE NOT alone. You may be sitting there looking at a screen by yourself, but YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Social distancing does not have to equal emotional distancing. Take a moment and read that again. Social distancing DOES NOT HAVE TO equal emotional distancing. If you don't where to start today, consider reaching out to someone and starting a simple conversation. And if you don't feel you have anyone you can reach out to... If you don't know where to start... Reach out to me and I will meet you in the middle of the mayhem and we'll sit together until you feel like you can begin again.  #KeepGoing #BuehlerLIfe

Today has been declared a National Day of Prayer. Maybe you pray often and taking time today will be routine for you. Maybe not. Maybe you know exactly what to say. Maybe not. If you are so inclined, would you please pray for our nation today? If you don't know what to say, I'm glad to share my prayer with you.  

Dear Heavenly Father,

There is so much going on in the world today that is upsetting and beyond my control. Please help me cast my cares on you today and turn my worry time into prayer time. 

I ask for your hedge of protection over each and every citizen of our great nation; over their homes, their families, and every other person they come into contact with... extended families, church families, co-workers, caregivers... I ask that you keep us safe and help us guard against panic in the face of adversity. I ask for wisdom and insight into dealing with the troubles we face.

I lift up our nation, and every other place on earth that is dealing with this pandemic. Please help those affected and stop this pandemic from worsening. I ask for your hedge of protection over our health and healing. Please pour out your blessings on all who are in need and help us find peace in these trying times.

I ask that you be with us and guide us through this uncertain time in our nations history. Turn our hearts towards You and help us be more of every good quality we possess: patience, kindness, loving, graceful, gentleness, generous, caring...

I lift up our President and elected officials at every level and all others that are in authority in our nation and in nations around the globe and ask that you guide them as they make decisions. Please make reliable information available to our leaders and guide them to do what is best for those they govern. 

In Jesus' name. Amen.