Whenever I start a new blog entry, my mind is often blank for many long minutes. The very act feels self indulgent, self centred, egotistical. It has, however, grown to be a source of comfort to me over the years, much like the diary I used to write in occasionally as a child. Initially I started my blog ten years ago to record and trace my travels and experiences of a year long solo trip around the world and share those moments with my family and a handful of friends. I see now that it has shifted more into the realm of a record, a personal peek into me and where I am at on this life journey, as much as it is a travel log .. blog. I read between my own lines lol 🙄 for clarity of thought. In many ways, I feel I have returned to the diary of my youth.

So … the Coronavirus …. I don’t even like capitalizing that pesky germ riddled word!! Yes, I am most definitely feeling testy on day eleven in the midst of solo isolation! That tiny highly contagious little germ has taken our planet Earth captive in a way no one could have predicted just one short month ago! The impact of that continues to ruminate around in my head … yes, lots of time for thinking now. Invariably, it is a gift in disguise, one that we can all learn from. Not quite there yet, but working on it 🙄!

Surprisingly, despite having eerily realistic dreams most nights, I have been sleeping better than I have in years. A welcome by-product and yes, a small gift during this global pause. What I deeply and intensely dislike about the uninvited, the unwelcome coronavirus guest bringing to our table however, is this distancing from family, from friends. At a time when we all need each other for human comfort, we are told to stay apart. A grandmother … that would be me and millions of others, advised by our government that we should not see our grandchildren, healthy as we all might be. How can we possibly be infecting each other, all sequestered in a house, away from the masses, away from public places?? Paranoia Patty seems to be taking over the global mind! So many seem riddled with fear, common sense appearing to have jumped ship altogether! Stay tuned … rumination eventually turns into words … see what day twelve brings in revisions to this blog entry.

“If you can’t go outward, go inward” …. on that note, my yoga, meditation and chanting routine beckons … keeps me sane in a world seemingly gone insane.

A few years ago I had heard through a good friend in San Miguel about Amistad Canada and the good work they support in this area of Mexico. Health and the well being of the disadvantaged children and their families in the rural communities is the focus of five projects out of the fifteen they support in Mexico. Amistad is a Canadian endeavour and continues to be for the most part, started up by a few Canadian retirees over ten years ago. Responding to the vitality and warmth of San Miguel’s community life and the very evident need of the local population for more social support, many people in the expatriate community become active in supporting social agencies that provide services to those in need. Their reach has extended to a dozen or so projects today in Guanajuato, Oaxaca and Jalisco.

Bev and I, together with our friends Anne and Rick, fifteen other Canadians and Americans and the Patronato Pro Ninos staff head to the campo (countryside) to a small community where the mobile units were stationed for the week. We learn and see first hand what this amazing little company has been up to. As well as a Central Health Centre, it operates a fleet of mobile medical and dental vans, the newest ones, being funded by Amistad Canada. The programs give financial support to sick children and dental and medical care to those who have no means or access to either without the help of the Pro Ninos program.

It is amazing what can be accomplished when people gather together, sharing their organizational talents, passion and desire to help those less fortunate in our world. San Miguel is not just a winter haven for retirees. There are committed people wanting to lend a helping hand. Fundraising is a constant to keep the programs running smoothly. Many San Miguel residents have been very generous over the years. To move these vital programs forward, the goal of Patronato Pro Ninos is to include corporate fundraising in the future.

I am humbled totally. This enthusiastic organization blows me away. There is much good in our world.

Discovering yet another layer of San Miguel de Allende.

March 12, 2020, Amistad hosts a 10th Anniversary Party at Instituto Allende, inviting all Canadians living in San Miguel to the festivities. Bev and I volunteer with a handful of others, helping set up for the afternoon party.

Bev and I form part of the backstage ‘security detail’ along with local staff 😊

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Hard to believe I started working on this post just ten brief days ago … how the world, yes literally the world, has changed since then! We learned shortly after that Amistad party on March 12th, that as Canadians, we would have to make our way back to Canada as soon as possible!! I waited another week and just managed to squeak in prior to border closings and the cancellation of many flights back to Canada. I rarely jump into a situation at first blush … I tend to wait for the furor to die down and as such, despite being borderline crazy to leave booking a flight to the last moment, it was pleasant to arrive at all connecting flights and airports with hardly a person around … have never in all my many years of travel, been in such empty airports! It was beyond a surreal experience. I breezed through Queretaro Airport in Mexico, same through Houston and Vancouver, disinfectant handy wipes in hand. Kelowna upon arrival was a total ghost town. Surreal indeed.

To think on March 16th, Bev and I hosted a small going away dinner party for our friends before we all dispersed on various flights to our homes in Canada. It was before “social distancing” became the new normal in our human interactions for the next several weeks if not months!! A few stayed on in San Miguel to weather this coronavirus pandemic here in the comfort of their homes.

How much has changed since this wonderful night together with good friends. Was it really just a week ago today??!! We now live with the reality of a viral pandemic that is already changing our lives forever. Stay tuned as I sit here in the midst of a 14 day solo isolation period in Kelowna, British Columbia as this global virus situation evolves. It is heartbreaking to be away from family at a time like this.