reset.

Me & Zach

Hello there blogging world. It has been far too long, 4 years in fact! I may not be returning at the most positive time in our history, but timing is everything, and when something feels right you just go with it! Am I right??

I started blogging at a time in my life when I was alone in Florence, Italy, and I needed a space to connect with others. I stopped as life got busier, jobs changed, humans came in and out of my life and I moved to a whole new place! My journal just seemed like a simpler place to store all my emotions (and believe me... there are a TON of emotions in there). However, while chatting with my Mom about our new "normal," she referred back to my time writing in here. A time where I was isolated from many of my friends and I was in a foreign place without my family, and I feel somewhat connected to that 2013 Rachele. She may have been more immature, slightly skinnier and sitting in a more spectacular spot than 2020 Rachele (because seriously... who doesn't love Italy??!?), but we both still feel that inexplicable draw for human connection. And in that respect, we share a kindred spirit. A spirit that has drawn me back to this very place.

I find it interesting and also comforting that all of us are kindred spirits right now. No matter the season of our lives or our location in the world, we are ALL going through Covid-19 together. We are all shaken, we are all stirred and we are all mixed up. Some of us are juggling 475836 kids or teaching remote learning, some of us are still risking our lives in the workforce, some are working from home or trying to keep their small business afloat, some are learning new study platforms and hoping to remain sane, all the while trying to stay away from other human beings (who suddenly became very scary and also potentially very dirty overnight). And some of us are doing all of those things at once! Are we all superheroes? (anyway... that's a different blog post).

So, I am in no way saying this time is easy, but I want us to take a step back for a second... take a deep breath, and look at this situation from afar. Look down on yourself and say, "Hi [insert name here], you are amazing. You are doing your best. You are going to survive this. And you are going to use this as a fresh start... a RESET!"

RESET!!?
1. oh, the blender isn't working? Unplug it and plug it back in.
2. Your phone is on the fritz again? Turn it off and turn it back on again!
3. You aren't feeling well? Why don't you take a nap and when you wake up you'll feel better!

See that? All forms of a reset. We do it all the time... so why wouldn't the world/God/your cousin Jim (or whatever/whoever you believe in) do it to us? If you look back on our history, something like this has happened before... more than once.

Nonetheless, we could all (yes, even you!) use a reset. Humans have been nonstop for far too long. We just keep moving forward because we have to, and sometimes fairly aimlessly. This era of our history is full of so much distraction. Between phones at our fingertips and endless streams of TV shows on Netflix, WiFi connection EVERYWHERE, Tik Tok videos engulfing social media platforms and countless video games! We are losing time. Valuable time with our loved ones... mostly just scrolling! Aside from the obvious ways to reduce the spread of Corona (physical distancing, staying at home, masks... you get the picture), there is nothing we can do about it... so what if we just embrace it? (not a human, just the situation).

What if... WHAT IF... this is all happening so we can return to our roots? Return to the days of planting our own gardens, eating family dinners, playing outside until the sun sets behind the mountains, rolling with our dogs in the backyard, hearing stories about our great-great-grandparents, getting lost in the woods, learning how to bake bread or speak another language. These were once staples. But as our world has changed, priorities have shifted and moments that were once regular are now rare.

I always ask Zach if he wishes he was alive in a different time period. I ask him because I do wish I lived in a time where life moved a bit slower and human connection was a bit simpler. That does not mean I wished for this!! Believe me. I have struggled plenty with this and I have cried a lot, BUT...

THIS IS OUR CHANCE! Hopefully something like this will never happen again in our lifetimes. So why don't we just take it for what it's worth! Take advantage of it! Become a runner, learn Italian, make a loaf of sourdough bread (even if you fail 483753 times first!), work on a puzzle as a family, write letters!!, SIT IN SILENCE!, take in that amazing Spring sun, write a blog post (mostly added that one for myself), and last but not least... LOVE YOUR LOVED ONES! In fact, if you are near your quarantine buddy (human, dog, cat, pillow, whatever it may be), give it a hug right now (keep it PG).

And you know what else is getting a reset right now?

DRUM
ROLL
PLEASE

Isn't she a beaut?

OUR EARTH! There are dolphins in Venice's canals, the smog over China is dissipating, our ozone layer is healing and so much more! Right now we are being given a second chance to love this beautiful haven we live on! What strides are you going to take to make sure we keep our Earth safe once life goes back to... "normal?" Hopefully we won't take it for granted!

So... I will end this post shortly after a quick recap. This is clearly not a perfect situation. There are people scared, sick and even worse, but there are ways we can make lemonade from this lemon of a situation. There are ways for us to come together from afar to make our world more positive. There are ways for us to be happy again and to find the silver lining that must exist!!! (if you don't know the silver lining I am referring to... please scroll back to the top and read again!)

All in all, please be safe, healthy and happy!

Love you all,
R