Sometimes it's actually worth it to check your email. This morning I received a nice letter from a stranger in response to my request, via Front Porch Forum, for stories and photos about how people are coping with life in the year 2020. It began "My name is Dana Waters, born and raised in Romania and a Vermonter since 2014." Instantly, I was intrigued. Here's Dana's story, followed by some thoughts of my own about women, wisdom, and wheels. (Above: Me, trying on my mother-in-law's hats.)
Dana Waters
My name is Dana Waters, born and raised in Romania and a Vermonter since 2014. One of the ways I’m coping with these stressful times is riding my electric scooter. My husband got it for my birthday a couple of years ago after I got a scary diagnosis. We traveled to Europe, to see my family, feeling scared and uncertain about the future. One day we were watching my siblings’ kids playing with their toy scooters and I thought I’d try one of those.
It was fun and my husband noticed I had a smile on my face. And he asked me: ”What would you like for your birthday?” ”Oh, nothing,” I said. ”I‘ve got you, that is enough for me.” But he insisted, and so, jokingly, I said: ”A scooter.” And sure enough, for my birthday, I got a big package on my porch. And it was a real scooter, an electric one. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy riding it, all over Randolph, even Braintree, picking flowers along the roads, or wild herbs. It’s a real blessing to me, and I thank God for it every day, and for my wonderful husband who loves me so much!
Wise Women
"Don’t forget to play." Best advice ever, and absolutely crucial in times of stress. It came from my mother's friend Dolly McKinney; the words are literally carved on her gravestone in the Randolph Center cemetery.
Every generation seems to produce a new crop of wise women—moms, aunts, sisters, teachers, and friends—who remind us to give thanks, every day, for life's little pleasures. I look for them in my Facebook feed, weeding through the crap until I land on something that makes me happy.
How are you coping with 2020? Leave a comment here, or send me some photos and a few words in an email: sara@korongobooks.com.