Wednesday on the Run!

I took a good long time out for some of this yesterday.

Dare I say that I needed it as much as Lola did.

She has this uncanny ability of knowing just what I'm talking about.  She listens.  She purrs.  She looks at me with the wisdom of the ages. She reads my thoughts.

She doesn't stick her nose into my business and tell me how to run things, what I should or shouldn't be doing.  She allows me to talk it through and make the best decision for myself and for my business.

And then she lets me live with the consequences.

I wish the world was more like that.

Funny thing, this whole internet and social media aspect of life.  I find myself the email target of random people who want to tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing with my life.  

The whole exchange started as a nosey email about my renting Quiltville Inn during Covid. 

"Are you having retreats during this time of increased Covid cases in almost all States including NC and Virginia? If so how many people are you having on each weekend? Which guidelines do you follow, Virginia or NC or both?"

I can understand people's concerns. I have explained time and time again that we are within state and county guidelines, and safer than any other open venue be it a restaurant, store or a church.

My problem is that I looked at this email as once again a chance to educate and to dispel fears. There is a way for folks to retreat safely.  Self quarantine, wear a mask, don't shop on your way here, stay here once you get here, sew 6 feet apart, sanitize, sanitize, sanitize, but that doesn't seem to matter.

It turned into a diatribe of replies from "Donna" whom the rest of the world would nod and knowingly call "Karen."

I knew I shouldn't have replied - not even the first time. I should have sensed the barbs from the first email and sent it directly to spam. But I didn't that time. Nor the second time - and telling this person to please mind their own business made it worse.  I became a target.

I should know better.  You don't have to attend every email argument you are invited to, Bonnie!

"How can you encourage gatherings when people are home struggling to stay alive and keep a roof over their heads? Or are planning funerals for love ones in the same family.  Do you really think anyone would quarantine for 4 weeks to go on a quilting retreat?  No in-person schooling. No visits for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I can go on but you don’t want to hear it. I hope I don’t hear about a new cluster in your corner of the world."

Folks are quarantining for 2 weeks before coming. I never said 4 weeks.  It has always been 2, and it is doable.  And people ARE doing it. And if they don't want to, they don't come.  

But I still don't see why that is any random person's business who lives nowhere near here, and isn't even planning on visiting Quiltville Inn ever - why does it matter so much?

Where I live - this area?  19 people per SQUARE MILE. That's our population.  We are socially distant every day.

But again, I don't need to explain myself, and I shouldn't have replied once again telling her that I am within state and county guidelines and to please mind her own business in her own corner of the world.

"All I know is that you are a business person who is not following guidelines. One of many. We will never  get this under control if we ALL don’t follow the guidelines. Many quilt businesses have gone on-line to stay afloat. Enlarge your website. Sell more. Have more classes on-line. What about business grants, which is different in every state. There are many things you can do without gathering people and having additional costs on the weekends. "

How does she know that I am not following guidelines? She doesn't live here.  Why is my business a concern?

So needless to say, it is my own fault for answering in the first place - a reminder to mark as spam so nothing comes to the inbox ever again, and delete, delete, delete, delete. 

No one is being forced to come.  And bills must be paid.  I will continue to run my life following guidelines and keeping things as safe as possible, but folks need to be responsible for their own lives as well, and not shove their opinions down other people's throats. 

Dear Donna-Karen: Stop being a busybody and please worry about your own area and state, wherever you live. Your area may be different than mine.

I didn't ask anyone for business advice, and if I needed it - it's not likely I'd ask you.

If and when I need to change my business plan, it will be in my own way - something that will work with my life, my area, my family.

I have finally sent that email exchange to "SPAM" so no more replies will find their way into my inbox.

Why am I typing this here?  Because this blog is my journal. My life. And if I don't just type this out and nip it in the bud it will explode. 

I have a busy day ahead.  I want to enjoy it and breathe freely, not hold it all inside.

The Donnas and Karens are all out there watching everything we do, forming opinions, and they feel free to shoot off an email or two telling us all how to live our lives.  What is the world coming to?

After all of the "must dos" were taken care of yesterday, the only thing I had time for on the quilty side was getting the Nearly Lemoyne quilt partially loaded.

As I am spending today on the road to Wallburg and back, the rest of the loading will likely happen tomorrow.

In the mean time, I am undecided how I am going to quilt this yet, so I'll let that play on my brain during my 200 mile round trip jaunt.

Calming my nerves through the stitches.

Stitching in the evenings is the icing on the cake for my day.  There is still so much to do on this quilt, but it is so easy to pick it up and sew for a while as I am not having to mark anything.

And no matter what comes undone in my day to day life - the stitches that I put in, how few or how many there be, will still be there when I come back to it.

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

We can always do a little more!

As for the journey part, yes, look for the positive things you wish to remember about 2020 so you can tell the story of how we survived through it all! 

(Yes, and I know that some experiences, like the busybody business above is not positive, but did I learn something from it?)

We are living and making history every day. 

The rest of this day is going to be AWESOME!