And so ends April. May should be even more interesting for me (a hint of irony there) since I have read all my emergency books, have watched all the DVDs I once borrowed from a friend, and now I am more or less banned from Facebook. (Any links to my blog are blocked, and all previous posts have disappeared.) I can check in and make a few comments, but that’s about it. Oh, wait — I can also post links to my books on Amazon. So, I can’t post links to my blog, which is not spam, but I can post links to my books, which can be considered spam. What a bizarre situation!
For the past twelve years, Facebook was a safe place for me to hang out with people, to chat a bit, and make new friends, but now, not only am I isolated in real time, I am isolated in e-time too. I considered fighting the ban, but I think I’ll wait. It would probably do me more good to stay away from the inane and sometimes downright nasty remarks people make about those who don’t agree with them, and I have had my fill. I’ve also had my fill of following the progression of The 
Bob, and especially I have had my fill of trying to make sense of all the stories that don’t add up. But still, not checking in with Facebook and the friends I’ve made all over the world will be make a huge hole in my life.
Adding to the complication, my knee is acting up again. It had been mostly healed, but clambering up and down the very steep threshold to my backdoor (I had to see what the workers were doing!) has exacerbated the injury. I’ve been babying the knee again, going in and out the front door (where there’s a ramp) and it’s doing better, but still not well enough to go tramping around town.
When the garage is done, they will build a walkway from the back door of the house to the pedestrian door of the garage, and when they do so, they will eliminate that treacherously deep step. Until then, not being able to use the back door just adds to the complications of my life. (Though admittedly, by comparison, this is a very tiny complication.)
So, to recap what May is beginning to look like: no books. No movies. No connecting with friends off line. (Although the governor has removed some of the restrictions, seniors are still locked down.) No connecting with friends online. And no walking.
With any luck, the workers will be back on Monday or Tuesday, but for now, there’s just me. And me. And me. And not much else.
As I said, May should be interesting.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One. “Grief: The Inside Story is perfect and that is not hyperbole! It is exactly what folk who are grieving need to read.” –Leesa Healy, RN, GDAS GDAT, Emotional/Mental Health Therapist & Educator.
