Pete and I live relatively simple lives. We do not have children, and family members are at the distance. We live in a relatively remote subdivision and have (sad to say) little interaction with our neighbors. We can do as we did today and go for walks and not cross paths with anyone. Our cupboards are stocked with what Pete deems most important, bananas, milk, and tortillas and with what I deem most important, chocolate. We have hay in the barn, an extra bag of dogfood in the closet.

We have plenty on hand to read, and Pete picked up some videos from the library a few days ago.

We also have work we can do. Pete’s been working on getting his now online classes going, and I have resumed work on my recycling book. I am making some major revisionary changes in the first few chapters – this is proving to be more difficult than I thought it would be.

Yesterday I went in to work on the book project. It was a very tough day. The level of stress was unusually high because everyone is wondering how they will be affected by the virus. One person had planned to leave on vacation yesterday but cancelled when she realized

Sacagawea Statue

that there would be no motel rooms available on the Oregon coast. She then spent close to two hours on the phone, attempting to cancel her car rental. She was told this would cost her $25.00. They waived the fee when she expressed her indignation.

Once again, I discovered that over the weekend, three pallets of boxed books that I’d placed in one area had been moved to various other areas. It took me most of the workday to find them and get them situated and organized in another area.

I expressed my indignation to the one who moved them. I did not get a $25.00 refund. I instead got reprimanded for working so hard.

It took me some time, that is all last night and a part of today, to come to terms with this. What I realized is that I need to be flexible, particularly in light of the virus concerns. This means that for now, I need to let go of the Bright Light Book Project and direct my focus elsewhere, which as I indicated in the above few paragraphs, is what I did and am going to continue to do.

Easier said than done. I know that right now, distribution is key – it would be in everyone’s best interest to get boxes of books to people who can’t leave their homes. We could find out what genres they’re interested in, fill their order and then put the boxes on their doorsteps. This is a brilliant idea. All it would take would be time and money for gas.

Ahh, but perhaps getting the recycling book done is just as important. And now might be the time. When opportunities arise, we need to seize them. I have come to a fork in the road and must take what I see as being the correct path.

Next: 78. 3/19/20: Finding the Elusive Balance