Strangers in a Strange Land

Downtown Delavan - a short walk from my house.
       It's been nearly six months since Mark and I moved from our longtime home in Oneonta, New York, to Delavan, Wisconsin. After living in New York for 32 years, and never expecting to move away, it was quite a shock to find ourselves in this conservative, midwestern town where we didn't know a soul. The last time I walked downtown in Oneonta I met five people that I knew. After five months in Delavan I started to recognize a familiar face in Piggly Wiggly once in awhile, but nobody on the main street. After all, there is no coffee shop here, no bookstore, no Artisan's Guild, no Yellow Deli or Autumn Cafe. No Silks and Treasures. I do walk downtown to the library and the post office, and Mark and I often walk to a Mexican restaurant. Or we did until the coronavirus took over the planet. 

        The explanation for our move is in my last post: "Farewell to Oneonta." It was a sudden decision based on our realization that we were needed in Wisconsin more than we were in New York, and we were needed ASAP. Our daughter and her ex-husband who co-parent our two grandchildren were missing too much work, mostly because of their son's special needs, but also because it wasn't always possible for their daughter to attend daycare. As any parent knows, trying to hold down a full-time job while caring for small children who are frequently sick, can be impossible. 

        Mark and I chose to relocate to a lake town halfway between Vera's home in Kenosha and our son Peter's home in Madison. That's how we ended up in Delavan - a town we explored on the internet before we ever saw it in person. For the first few months, as we were getting settled and finding our way around, I felt like a stranger in a strange land. When we weren't taking care of one or both grandchildren we were working on our new house, trying to make it homey, and finding different ways to get involved in the community. We attended two churches, joined a gym and a short story discussion group, attended meetings at the local Democratic Party headquarters, and Mark started teaching English to a Spanish-speaking man. We made a few friends and were just starting to feel more at  home when covid-19 hit Wisconsin. 

        I'm grateful that we got to spend Christmas and two December birthdays with our children and grandchildren. We had to cancel Peter's March birthday celebration and we most likely won't get to see Clara when she turns four in April. She had been spending Mondays and Tuesdays at our house until two weeks ago. Those two days were the highlight of our week. When will we get to see her again? We had also planned an April trip back to New York to visit family and friends. Now we have no idea when we'll get to go. 

        We are living in unprecedented times. No one knows for sure what's going to happen, how long this will last, and what the world will look like when it's over. We are all strangers in a strange land now. Those of us who don't have essential jobs are staying home, either alone or with one or more family members. I feel blessed that I have Mark to share this time with. As seniors, we are fortunate that we don't have to work, and we don't have to go anywhere other than the grocery store. As seniors we are also in the highest risk category. We just learned that Italian doctors are no longer treating patients over 60. If that happens here, it will be us, and most of our siblings and friends. 

        We moved to Wisconsin to take care of our grandchildren, and now we can't see them. We stay home and take care of ourselves so that we can survive to see them in the future. I love knowing that people everywhere are caring for one another and sending good thoughts out to the rest of the world. Every day I pray for my family and for the healing of the world and all of humanity. I believe that this "Stay-at-Home" mandate is a gift to those of us who see prayer and visualization as a way to transform the world. We are strangers in a strange land now, but maybe, just maybe, when we come out on the other side, we will be one family, sharing a more loving and peaceful planet that we will all call Home. 

        

        

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