WEYBURN - Spring is officially here! For my household, the first few weeks of spring is a time for us to do a nice deep clean of the house, and also go through our closets to see what clothes still fit.
It can be a little overwhelming to accomplish a complete clean of the house, so we always take it easy by accomplishing one part of the house at the time. We start with the bedrooms, including sorting through our closets and dressers at that time. Then we will move on to the larger spaces, like the living room, kitchen and basement.
We always donate the used clothing (or any used toys that my son no longer plays with), as long as they are still in good condition. I have been in the situation, where I depended on the Food Bank and clothing sales at the Salvation Army, so I like to donate back to that organization whenever I can.
With the war in the Ukraine, due to Russia’s military presence in their country, there is a negative effect on both gas and grocery prices. I can not imagine the challenges of living in that area of the world right now, and having to constantly fear for one’s own welfare. My heart goes out to the families, and those here in our country who have families who are right in the heart of the conflict.
I know that I am pretty blessed in my life. I have a safe place to live. I have food on the table for my family every night. I have a warm place to sleep.
Not everyone has those basic securities in their lives. It can be very easy to find ways to give back to others in need, even without needing to give back in a financial way. A simple kindness to your neighbour by raking up their leaves, sharing a meal with a friend, or checking in on a friends welfare does go a long way.
Now that our communities are slowly recovering from officially being out of COVID-19 pandemic mode, there is a lot for businesses and people to recover from the past two years. It will take time for everyone to get used to not having COVID-19 regulations enforced, and even for some to feel comfortable going out to public or shared spaces.
Much in the way that my household does a deep clean when spring arrives, I think that our communities need to do something similar to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. As much as many organizations want to host large events and encourage socializing again, I think we need to take it slowly. Do it one event at a time, not to overwhelm the community itself.
There are benefits to the community when it is able to host a regional, provincial or national event. It will be important to re-energize our tourism economy after all, and encourage people to visit our community. At the same time, it is important to ensure that we are still mindful of what our community needs to recover, which is simply time and patience.
