I am so sorry you have Covid! And, that some of your family did, too. I hope everyone heals quickly with none of the lasting side-effects.

Thanks for your sympathy, but I am not in pain. All those lost relationships were from years ago, including a friend of 60 years that I lost over the 2016 election. I am long over those losses!

I wrote this about my dearest friend whom I invited to take some plants I wanted to uproot - too much of a jungle and I have a different plan for that area. She admired them before and I expected her to take what she wanted, but she spent almost 2 hours clearing out the area for me! She is younger and does manual labor on her 40-acres. Still, I never expected her to spend all that time. I was planning to work on it little-by-little. She is returning this coming weekend to move some bushes for me and to help me restring some windchimes. All without being asked.

I've long stopped expecting much from anyone, probably a result of my daughter being such a horrible communicator. She broke my heart and irritated me countless times with her thoughtlessness. But, she simply is not good at communicating, even when she tries. I finally accepted that she wasn't going to change, so I had to stop taking what I saw as her inconsideration so personally. She's like that with others, too.

Once I let go of my unrealistic expectations of her, I was able to let go of expectations from almost everyone else. And, that comes in handy during this pandemic when almost everyone I know is taking risks that are unnecessary and dangerous. I can't control them or lessen their stupidity, so I do all I can to protect myself and hope for the best.

Wishing you a speedy recovery!