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REDSTONE • REVIEW
NOVEMBER 17 / DECEMBER 15, 2021
ANALYZE Let’s not return to normal By Janaki Jane Redstone Review LYONS – I am not interested in returning to “normal,” when normal is defined as life as it was before the Covid-19 pandemic. The thought of going back to the way life was lived before makes me feel tired. Jane I have liked a lot about life since the pandemic. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have lost 12 pounds. I now sleep eight to nine hours a night, where I used to sleep seven, if I was lucky, on the good nights. I have, for the first time in my life, started to do push-ups – they’re modified, old lady push-ups on a railing – but I regularly do 75 and occasionally 100 a day, so that I for the first time in my life have biceps. I relish that. I have spent time lying in the yard staring, something I have always wanted to do, but never did because there was always “too much to do.” I used to drive every single day, and yet I never appreciated the glowing golden aspens, the tumbling river, the vastness of the blue of the sky as I have this year. I am so grateful to have been forced to slow down and truly relax. I used to go to coffee shops to relax. I have learned that I can make great coffee at home, save money, and relax more than I ever relaxed in the coffee shops. Most of the people I talk to do not want to return to our pre-pandemic world, either. We were always on the go, and now we see that we were doing too much. It has been a relief to stop for a while and then restart again
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travel. Drivers should plan for delays and the team has planned to ensure that emergency responder access is maintained at all times. During the closure, motorists need to take U.S. Hwy. 36 to CO Hwy. 7. Due to work zone conditions, cycling, kayaking, hiking and climbing will be closed between mile points 23 and 29.5 at all times during the closure.
Seniors special events LYONS – Something special is planned for seniors in each of the next two months, specifically on the third Thursday following the Redstone Café lunches at Walter Self Senior Housing. There will be a Thanksgiving party on November 18, and on December 16, a winter holidays party. Some or many of you are still worried about Covid-19. It is still being spread and is still a
slowly. There is an opportunity to figure out what it is that we really want for ourselves and our lives. It turns out that many of us want to slow down, work less, spend less, and care more for ourselves, our loved ones, our planet, and our community. We have discovered that not only do we not need five-dollar lattes, but that there are a lot of other things that we filled our time with in the past that we do not need or even want, whether it is driving an hour both ways to work, or spending our hardearned money to eat out because we are too tired to cook, or “going shopping” for something to do. People have suddenly discovered nature, camping, cooking, sewing, learning to garden with native plants, and trying hiking poles for the first time. Those who want us to want to go back to normal are the people who made money from the ungrounded, hectic, car-centered lives we used to live. Even though the supply-chain problems have been caused by us buying so much, there are huge swaths of the American capitalist system that are not doing so well, because we are not spending as much of our time or our money at them. People have learned, or remembered, how to cook, and so are going out to restaurants less. As a Disease Intervention Specialist in Covid response, I am very reluctant to eat and drink inside a building with strangers, even when “socially distanced.” I hear others are, too, and are enjoying learning to cook all over again.
danger. Boulder County continues to recommend that you take steps to stay safe. Get vaccinated, get your booster shot, wear your mask when inside buildings, and stay home if you don’t feel well. Lyons senior activities that take place outside (such as exercise class) do not require masks but our indoor activities will. For some of you the benefits of getting out and socializing outweigh the risks, and others people prefer to play it as safely as possible. Please only come to activities if you feel good about doing so. Please reach out with any questions. Contact the Town of Lyons with questions, 303-823-6622.
Lyons Community Church LYONS – Pastor Emily Hagan offers Zoom Bible Study on Monday nights, and is excited to see how the community works together to put on a wonderful children’s pageant on December 12 at 10 a.m. Watch for more information and feel free to contribute to the ministries of Lyons Community Church as you feel led. For more information, call the office at 303-665-5165 or 719-248-0477.
We all only have so many hours and so much energy in this lifetime. Just like money, we can spend it wisely or exhaust what we’ve been given. Whether we like it or not, the pandemic has forced us to feel how imbalanced our lives were before and given us a chance to reconsider how we want to spend the finite resource that is our life. So, I say resist. Resist the newspapers and news channels that want us to want to return to the immoderate lifestyle of preCovid. Resist the ads that tell us we need to go out more, spend more, and be at home less. Instead, let’s keep exploring a slower way of life and discovering what really drives us, pulls us, inspires us, and spend time doing whatever that is and sharing it with our chosen companions. We do not have to return to the “normal” that keeps half of us broke and beholden to jobs we do not love. We can use this time to turn our backs on that, face forward to our own lives, and choose what we want life to look like. And then work, together, to create that life. Janaki Jane currently works as a Disease Intervention Specialist and contact tracer in the Covid-19 response, teaches suicide prevention, and runs the Wide Spaces Community Initiative, “Creating a Community of Belonging and Personal Safety for Everyone,” a program of the Lyons Community Library. You can read more of her writing at www.janakijane.com.
Vaccinations LYONS – And now some information on vaccinations. In Colorado, if you are 65 and over, you are now eligible for a Covid vaccine booster shot. Please contact your health care provider for information on when and where you can get your shot. Here’s a link to an interesting article: https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/09/22/covidvaccine-booster-confusion/.
Senior exercise group LYONS – Join the senior exercise group and get out in the fresh air while enjoying stimulating conversation. On Tuesdays exercises involve hand weights and bands, along with some aerobics. Chairs will be available for those who prefer to sit as they exercise. On Thursdays, we start off with a 30-minute walk. Walkers are encouraged to go at their own pace and all exercises can be modified to accommodate any fitness level. Both classes will end with some gentle stretching and yoga in Bohn Park.
Don’t forget to bring a water bottle and you may bring your own hand weights and yoga mat if you prefer. Class is weather dependent with cancellations due temperatures below 45 degrees. If it’s rainy out the class meets in a park shelter. Classes are for seniors age 55 and older. Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. (Check the times with the town hall 303-823-6622, they have recently changed). Classes meet at LaVern Johnson Park concession stand, 600 Park Dr. and are free, seniors only.
Holiday Artisan Market LYONS – If you are looking for unique Christmas gifts, try the Holiday Artisan Market. Just like in the days of yore, the market is scheduled to (hopefully) be held in the Lyons Elementary School gym on the same weekend as the Parade of Lights. This year the market will be adhering to the school district’s Covid-19 rules, which include masks for everyone inside the Continue Briefs on Page 11
It’s the Holiday Season! Gifts for Every Occasion…
452 Main St, Longmont • (303) 651-1125 Tuesday-Friday: 10am-4pm • Saturday: call ahead
