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The Grandma’s advice that broke the internet

When you swipe open your cell But, then, doesn't life in general From the outside it appears as
phone to kill time as you nuke last always require words of encourage- though you’re living a charmed life,
night's leftovers, you never know ment and reassurance? but you just can’t shake the feeling
what you might find. The loss of a parent. that there has to be something more
Our phones can often serve as the The loss of a job. than this.
gateway to wisdom we didn't know Divorce happens—or some other Sure, you’re making ends meet—
we needed. personal earthquake—and it jump- for the time being—but you worry
That was me a couple of morn- starts a radically different way of ex- about retirement.
ings ago, sitting at the kitchen table. isting. In the end, the point is the same:
As I savored my coffee, I mindlessly Make a soup. Kids grow older, parents become There is no quick fix or magic
scrolled through my news feed as if You see? You are advancing step empty-nesters and find it challenging panacea to make it all better right
on autopilot. by step. Take a step and stop. to navigate the path going forward. now. In this very moment.
And that's when I happened upon Rest a little. We've all been there in some form The outcome of so many scenar-
something from a writer by the name Praise yourself. or fashion. We've all experienced the ios is predicated on circumstances
of Elena Mikhalkova. Technically, it Take another step. proverbial gut-punch of the cruelties that are completely out of our con-
wasn't from Elena. No, she was the Then another. of life. And then we're tasked with trol.
messenger. You won’t notice, but your steps the challenge of picking up the But carry on, we must.
The sage advice actually came will grow more and more. And the pieces and moving on. How are we supposed to do it?
from Elena's grandmother: time will come when you can think But how do we do that when we One step at a time, Elena's grand-
My grandmother once gave me a about the future without crying. can't get out of bed? When, at times, mother says.
tip: I put down my coffee and pon- essential tasks like showering and You take a breath, do what you
In difficult times, you move for- dered Elena's grandmother's words, eating seem beyond our capability? can, stop there, and rest. And you
ward in small steps. Do what you which were first revealed to the And even in the absence of life’s don't beat yourself up about it.
have to do, but little by little. Don’t world in early May of 2020—when big earthquakes, the tiny ones re- That's how.
think about the future, or what may we were all in the throes of the first main—and they can be just as worri- Personally, I can wash the dishes,
happen tomorrow. stage of COVID. some: remove the dust, and write the letter.
Wash the dishes. Back then, guidance that struck You become aware of the fact that But the soup-making is my stick-
Remove the dust. a balance between realistic and hope- your son or daughter is the resident
Write a letter. ful were both needed and rare. outcast at school. See Mindful, page 14

The Wayne Dispatch · March 2022 · 5