Stay Safe and Kiss the Babies

Being made to shelter in place by four demanding daughters seemed to me like Elder Abuse, but I suppose it was born out of love as well as a healthy respect for the global pandemic and the Governor's plea to pay attention. My Facebook friends became my social respite, but there was so much bitterness, both about the LOCKDOWN, and about politics. In my daily visits to the solitude of my back deck I found my mind recalling of all of the wonderful experiences I enjoyed growing up in the beautiful mountains of New York State. I decided to lighten up the dialogue with daily postings about how wonderful life was during the past 70 years in America, a life that seems so far away now. This pandemic reminds us of a simpler life, a life full of valuable contact with those we love and those we lost. How wonderful it will be when we conquer this virus, and appreciate what we have had to do without.

Being made to shelter in place by four demanding daughters seemed to me like Elder Abuse, but I suppose it was born out of love as well as a healthy respect for global pandemic and the Governor's plea to pay attention. My Facebook friends became my social respite, but there was so much bitterness, both about the LOCKDOWN, and about politics. In my daily visits to the solitude of my back deck I found my mind recalling of all of the wonderful experiences I enjoyed growing up in the beautiful mountains of New York State. I decided to lighten up the dialogue with daily postings about how wonderful life was during the past 70 years in America, a life that seems so far away now. This pandemic reminds us of a simpler life, a life full of valuable contact with those we love and those we lost. How wonderful it will be when we conquer this virus, and appreciate what we have had to do without.

Elizabeth McNamara Huber, (Bonnie) lives in Ghent, NY, a small town near Hudson in the Catskill mountains. She is the mother of four, grandmother of five, and great-grandmother of six. At 79, she still works for CONIFER REALTY as a consultant for their many properties in the Hudson Valley. Caught in the NY State COVID-19 LOCKDOWN, Bonnie's four daughters confined her to her house and FACEBOOK. She found the political fights and anger on FB offensive, and felt the need to share a lighter side of life by posting her daily activity as well as countless reflections from her memories growing up in rural America for the past 70 years. Her Facebook friends looked forward to the daily posts, and dozens of them urged her to publish them in a book. Stay Safe and Kiss the Babies is that collection.