I haven’t posted in a few days, but nothing much has happened. When I go to bed, I never feel sleepy. Thus I lie awake for hours and wake up a bit loopy. Oh, well. Even though time is an illusion, one pays the price for disrespecting it.

Yesterday was quite pleasant. Rob drove me to Macy’s to return a few things. Macy’s is no longer the store it used to be pre-pandemic. There are few salespeople and the store itself is showing definite signs of neglect. I believe there are people like me who seldom shop in a store anymore. There was a new sign out front that pointed people to the Pick Up and Returns departments.

We had a burger and fries at a neighbor restaurant. We got there before the afterwork crowd and enjoyed our meal. Then he got ready to go to a concert and I watched TV until bedtime.

Puerto Rico has been almost destroyed once again. Climate change is now coming fast and furiously towards the continent.

Trump is in defiance of democracy and I have doubts as to whether it will hold. His “believers” are now more frenzied than ever. All for a businessman who has never respected anyone or anything. Not only is he a businessman, he is a failed one.

Working on myself is a daily experiment as well. Mainly I watch Vicki as she goes about her day. She is eating too much sugar and watching too much TV.

I know her so well. Traumatized by years of caregiving, she is careful to the point of obsession. She had rather stay home than go out. She refuses to use her cell phone and her vital papers are, well….not as organized as they once were.

Her heart, once so repeatedly crushed, is now calmer and more peaceful. She dwells on the simple words of Jesus. She follows although she backslides often. But peace surrounds her.

Peace is not valued anymore. The old world wobbles on its axis and its inhabitants are clutching their chests in fear. What next, they wonder. What next?

“My kingdom is not of this world.” Definitely true. Once we look within, we find a bit of comfort. We never find it anywhere else.

Vicki Woodyard