From Caviar to COVID

I rolled into 2020 wanting to enjoy the finer things in life. This desire sprang partially from

reading in the December 2019 issue of O Magazine that the one thing actress Alfre Woodard

couldn't live without was poached eggs topped with caviar. I was automatically intrigued

because I love poached eggs, but the one time I'd had caviar it didn't taste like anything except for a lot of money. I mean I literally couldn't discern the taste. And isn't that something, to pay a lot of money for something so underwhelming?

Well, anyways I thought to myself I've still got to try this. Maybe the caviar I had was a bad

batch??? So after spending one of the strangest pre-COVID holidays with my family, I loaded up my Corolla and me and the pup headed back to Oklahoma with caviar on the brain and dreams of a wonderful 2020 to come. Now where in the world could I get caviar was the next question, and I figured if it would be anywhere in this landlocked state it may be at Whole Foods. And sure enough they did have two varieties. I got the golden pearl salmon roe variety because they were pretty and I'm a sucker for anything with pearl in the name. I even sprung for organic eggs. And that first Saturday in January I put on the opera, put a fire on, and dove into the finer things.

I sat on a blanket with my fireside picnic and put the perfect forkful of egg and caviar into my

mouth. And you know what, I have to give it to Whole Foods, I got more flavor for the $11 I

spent than the $20 for a single serving I'd had before at a restaurant. As I continued eating and listening to the opera, all I could think was this is cool, but I could live without it. Now peanut butter crackers, that's what I can't live without!

So as not to give up after one try, I decided this would be my weekend treat for as long as there was caviar in the little glass jar. And because I come from a long line of folks who know how to make a lot out of a little, I was surprised that it lasted me for about three weeks. At which time, I was bored with it and the pace of living was ramping back up as everyone was fully coming out of their holiday hibernation.

Well, that's what we all thought right? January was nearly over, and in the fast paced world of

Corporate America if you didn't already have several accomplishments under your belt and a

new project underway, then you were already behind. For the seven years I worked for AT&T I'd always hated this non-stop going going going until your physical and mental health is gone by the time the first quarter is over. So when COVID really hit to the point where no one could avoid it by mid-March, I welcomed the pace that everyone was now forced to live. For once it felt like everyone was finally attune to my way of living. Slow, peaceful mornings. Time for lunch in the afternoons. Dinner at a normal hour, sitting at the kitchen table away from your computer. This was my kind of living.

Now, let's fast forward to another holiday season in a radically different world. For the first time in 31 years I spent Thanksgiving physically alone. But thank God for technology because our Zoom Thanksgiving was actually the first time in four years that my whole family willingly spent the day together. Oh, and if you're thinking that's nice but I want things to go back to normal, the truth is there is no going back and we do ourselves a great disservice by always reaching for what we had rather than loving in the moment that we have.

And I do truly mean the moment, because as I write this I'm only a few days away from having tested positive for COVID - which I got from the doctor's office of all places! So for someone who is a BIG planner, moment to moment living is a real struggle. But literally everything that has happened to me in 2020 has prepared me for this moment when COVID went from theoretical threat to lived reality.

So, if you're longing for the lost moments of 2019 - STOP. Create the life of finer things you want right now with what you have right now. Stop looking for joy and peace in the outside world. Start planting and cultivating those seeds inside of you right now. Because I can tell you one thing for sure, the truly finer things in life spring forth eternally from your ability to make a lot out of just a little bit of hope, truth, love, joy and peace!