So, yeah… business as usual.
The conflict in Ukraine drags on. The first war crimes trial related to the conflict began this week, even as the war rages on. Eastern Europe seems like a spooky place to be these days. It’s hard to get good, accurate news about the war in American media, but the BBC pushes Ukraine stories morning and night.
Here in the States, there’s a shortage of infant formula. Prices have been skyrocketing. Supplies are dwindling. Stores are rationing the purchase of it. Stock prices of the nation’s leading formula manufacturer are going up. And a week or so ago a mom was arrested after shoplifting formula and baby items from a Walmart… oh, and here’s the twist of the knife: her child was killed in the car chase as police pursued her over the shoplifting complaint [source]. Today the president activated the Defense Production Act in order to address the shortage of formula.
Here’s the current state of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic by the numbers. Global: 524,651,790 cases (6,294,490 deaths). United States: 84,657,468 cases (1,027,915). New Mexico: 528,146 (7,650 deaths). Navajo Nation: 53,789 cases (1,771 deaths).
Mask mandates have been relaxed across our state, although they remain in place in hospitals, healthcare facilities and places like nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities. I haven’t driven by lately to see how many extra refrigerated trailers are still parked outside the Office of the Medical Investigator (my actual barometer for how things are going). The number of covid inpatients is quite low although it has been trending slowly upward over the last couple of weeks. People are preoccupied now with the war in Europe, the upcoming midterms here in the U.S. and the wildfires here in the west. We’ll see how we fare as the weather warms.
The hot months are my least favorite time of the year. The heat feels oppressive, sapping. The sun beats down relentlessly. There aren’t enough places to escape it. I like the cool, short days of autumn and winter. So, as it’s begun to get hotter, and the days longer, I’ve been struggling some with my mental health. I’ve been trying to find my way back to the things that bring me peace, but it’s a hard thing to do.
I have found some relief sitting out at night. under the stars, by our little firepit. We modified it heavily to prevent it from spitting any embers into the air. It’s not as pretty to look at as it once was, but I can still see the tiny fire inside, and feel the night breeze on my skin… and that seems to help.
I hope you have something that brings you peace as well. Thanks for reading.
Oh, and I couldn’t really find a graphic to cover the various topics of this post, so I leave you with this Supernatural-related meme:
Lori O'Ferell 