The Coronavirus has thrown all our lives into a totally different way of living. It reminded me of The Honeymoon of My Divorce.

There was a time during the divorce when I experienced something that I found out later might be rare, but is not unknown. It came about as anger faded into sadness over the "never agains" in a long marriage that produced two beautiful children, but was ending. It was sadness that touched both of us.

I realized then that Never Again had a flip side â€" Never Before. We began to speak about the never before aspects of a new relationship between us. We could be good friends, instead of lovers. It was a relief to contemplate being friends, for perhaps the first time.

Never Before have we been quarantined with everyone we live with for weeks, maybe months to come! Never Before have we had so many hours to visit. Does anyone remember visiting being without cell phones? Don't let this opportunity to find out who those parents or grandparents we live with really are.




We need to seize the chance to tell the people in our homes what our dreams and ambitions are, maybe even how much they mean to us. Ask the oldest what they wanted to be when they reached their present age. None of us know if everyone in our home will still be with us for Mother's and Father's Day, let alone Thanksgiving. We need to think about that in order to gain the full advantage of our time together now. This time of Never Before could also be Never Again.

While listening to reports of how hard it was to find toilet paper in the stores, maybe a grandparent will share tales of their grandparents having to use an outhouse! Be open to each other. The memories we gather may last a lifetime. They may have to last a lifetime. Never Before could become Never Again all too soon.