You may or may not have noticed that I have not posted anything on this blog for a very long time.

You may have wondered what in the World has happened to me.

I have continued my human activities to the best of my ability during a very strange time in history.

As a substitute teacher I experienced long periods of unemployment as schools closed. I also had many times when I was working more than usual because teachers were reluctant to return to the classroom. That gave me the chance to work daily when schools were open.

It has been a rollercoaster of a year and a half. I am certain most of you can agree that there were days when just getting out of bed and getting dressed felt like a major accomplishment.

Fortunately all the humans in my home, with the exception of me, were able to work throughout the craziness. They even had to carry “passports” at one point in case they were pulled over crossing the state line as we live in one state and they work in another. I simply stayed home.

The beast loved the constant companionship. He kept me physically active with at least 5 walks each day.

I did enjoy gardening and crafting. YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime (video not ordering) became my obsessions. Online coursework, especially mental health, helped me tremendously. I even started listening to podcasts on business and money management.

It was a great year for personal growth!

As a result of all my self reflection I have wandered down a different path. Instead of continuing to blog on this site, I have opened a business called Gardening on a Whim, LLC>

It is exciting and frightening in equal measures.

I have a new website and an Etsy shop. Neither is extremely successful, but I am continuing to learn and grow with time.

I invite you to check out my website, Gardening on a Whim. I really do miss having interactions with my readers. Seems very few of those who read my posts want to respond and I miss that.

I wish you all the best.

In the last few months my life has changed dramatically. I lost my paying job as many others have during this crazy time.

I spent hours each day doing absolutely nothing productive for about a month. Then I spent days at a time working on the landscape of my home. I learned I really like working outside and I could be proud as I saw many improvements I had been too busy or lazy to conquer before. It became a sense of pride. It was rewarding.

Then I had a moment of clarity when I remembered something Dr. Phil had said in an interview with an unemployed guest. He said something along the lines of, “Your job is to find a job. You need to spend 8 hours a day working on finding a job.”

I took this to heart.

No, I am not spending 8 hours a day looking for a job because the reality is there are no jobs to be found at this point.

What I am doing is spending as much time as I can diversifying my resume. Or at least, trying to diversify my resume.

I am fortunate enough to have a library system which provides free access to online courses. There are two types, Lynda Video Training and Gale Courses.

Lynda training is self-paced and allows me to explore anything without a structured time frame.

I started with computer programming because I really enjoyed my time learning about it when I was a long-term substitute in Middle School Computer class. I thought, “This is perfect. I will learn a skill and be able to have a career from the comforts of my own home.”

I was proud of myself as I downloaded the program and was able to follow along with the professor for approximately 45 minutes. Then something happened.

It was the same thing that happened when I took Trigonometry my freshman year of college. Three weeks into the course I stared at the professor and realized he was speaking a foreign language and I did not have a translator. I was so far behind and had no hope of catching up or passing. I dropped the class.

Reflection made me question – If I don’t find learning it enjoyable, how would I possibly enjoy doing it for a living?

Within an hour of staring at my computer I changed my “Path” to Graphic Design and I am so glad I did. I am learning so much and I have found myself sketching constantly.

Even better, I am dreaming big dreams.

Next week I will start three Gale courses which are time structured with actual assignments and feedback from the Professors. They are

Certified Mindfullness

Spanish in the Classroom

Writing for Children

I am looking forward to them and I definitely feel they fit my new focus on diversifying my resume.

Now, to the title of this post, “Reflection Reveals Recreating is Warranted.”

Three months. I have been home (literally) for three months with very little contact with others. My contacts include

The people and dog who live in my house – dog is the one I talk to the most.

People who text and my best friend who knows I hate talking on the phone but calls me for hours at a time. She’s lucky I love her.

The neighbors I like who happen to like yard work as much as I do.

Social media – does that really count?

With three months of being fairly alone with my thoughts, I have had a lot of time to reflect. Taking the courses and doing other research online covering all my various interests and desire to find a source of income, has given me plenty to reflect upon.

My conclusion is – I have not posted anything on this blog for a very long time. I haven’t even looked at it because in some strange way it had become a chore.

Maybe obligation with no real direction is a better way of referring to it.

Now, I realize the blog was all about me trying to make a name for myself without really being true to myself. It was all hide in the shadows of what I want to say but am afraid to say. It didn’t have substance.

So, I am recreating the Creation of myself. I am creating something more authentic.

Don’t you think the World needs more of that at this time?

I am going to post things that I am doing, trying, hoping to do. They will most likely all revolve around fairies, gardening, writing and most importantly dreaming of a brighter world and future.

So, I hope you are able to join me on my adventures to be a better, more authentic person and that you will enjoy the ride.

If not, I wish you peace on your own journey.

When you spend an entire day walking, cooking, eating and never putting the book down, you know there’s something amazing about it.

When you read the last word and hold it to your heart because you are sad to let it go, you know it’s a keeper.

I held the book as one of the characters, Charlie, once held a box.

What’s in a book? If it’s well written, there is much more than a story.

I highly recommend this.