For quite a few days now, I’ve told myself to sit down and write a blog post. But it simply hasn’t happened. I have lots to say. But zero motivation to get it out of my head and on the page.

Well, this all changes now. I miss blogging. I miss chatting and connecting with you. It’s time to kick the excuses to the curb and get on with it.

So, where to start? Life is weird. You know that. I know that. I could never ever imagined what we’re all dealing with now. Nope, seems like we’re living in some big blockbuster  movie. If only that were true.

The immediate changes to life here at ottawa.cx world headquarters are on the surface minimal. I already work from home. Marc is very experienced at working from home and has made a seamless transition. Calvin the cat is still bossing us around. We have a full fridge. And I fortunately did a big order of ostomy supplies before people started buying up alcohol wipes, non-stick pads, and other small medical supplies that make life much easier for us ostomates.

As for the rest of life. Well, it’s different. No cycling outdoors. No visiting friends. No restaurants. Our plans for a trip down to Georgia and Florida are now on permanent hold. We expect the wait for Marc’s heart surgery to grow from a 3-6 month wait to up to 9 months or longer. He is okay – we just  need that annoying hole fixed. Marc has got a top-notch heart surgeon who assures us that Marc can safely ride his bike, race, and live his life normally without putting himself at risk.

But really, apart from the heart surgery delay – these changes aren’t that  different than what you are experiencing. We’ve all had plans change. We’re all thinking about our jobs. We’re all worrying about what will come next.

Really, regardless of where we live, the jobs we do, the number of people in our family, and how much money we have – we are all in this together. I think this is an important fact to remember when out buying groceries. Everyone – the person who looks rather frazzled, the person who is walking slowly, the person who has red-rimmed eyes, and the person who seems oblivious to social distancing – we’re all in this together.

We are all trying to deal with this in our own ways.

This is a very good time to remember the saying “you don’t know  someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes”. So be patient. Be kind. Think of others. Smile, even when you’d rather shout. We can get through this. It’s going so suck for a good long while, but we can do it.

And now, to put a smile on your face. Here are some goofy drawings I’ve been doing. I’ve started doing the drawing  exercises in Lynda Barry’s incredible Making Comics book. This book is stretching me in so many ways. It’s not just putting lines on the paper – Barry has got me firing up my imagination muscles again. This is the perfect time for it.