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8 | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | MAY 2020 | I have realized that nothing should be taken for granted. I now appreciate so much more than I ever have before. I am grateful for every little thing… a beautiful sunny day so I can go for a walk, having eggs for breakfast, and most of all, being healthy. I am also so glad that I made the decision to move to this beautiful community. In the 10 months that I have lived here, I have made many friends. We are now communicating through the Sun Lakes Facebook page, and keep each other company with stories and pictures. If you have to be quarantined, this is the best place for it! ~ Laurie Williams When we entered the COVID-19 situation and restrictions, I found myself at loose ends and in major boredom. I started trying to fill my time with something that would be challenging and fun. I discovered a new putter that I won 10 years ago as a volunteer at the Invensys GPA Golf Tournament in Las Vegas. I had some new balls, and I recalled my technique, so off I went to the putting greens. I discovered that I really enjoyed playing, and it was something I could continue after we get back to normal. ~ Evelyn Hawkins The old AT&T advertisement, "Reach Out and Touch Someone," has been my motto. What a fun and rewarding experience talking with a variety of family members, old friends and even making some new friends along the way. This morning I picked a very good person to call, the Pastor who attended the same grade school as me (just a tad younger). We reminisced about our school, church and classmates. As a kid, I went to confession with the oldest priest who was hard of hearing. He did not hear me but unfortunately, everyone else did. Another call was to a lady who sent a group email. Instead of emailing back, I called her. We found out that we have some similar interests, such as the city of beautiful San Clemente. We exchanged phone numbers. The time at home has also given my husband Lauren and I time to talk about a variety of subjects. It has been fun getting back on track cooking healthy meals. We certainly have watched many movies and found some of our old favorite TV shows, especially Barney Miller. There has been much kindness shown to Lauren and me. Very good friends brought sanitizer to us. They and another friend gave us masks. Whoever thought I, the ultimate Mozart's shopper, would appreciate masks so much. Thanks very much for all the kindness we have received during this trying time. Many blessings to you and your family. ~ Connie Cutner Because everyone was stuck at home with time on their hands, I took advantage of the opportunity to speak with my grandchildren more often, without feeling that I had interrupted something that they would rather be doing. It was a great chance to renew the closeness we had when they were youngsters. I found the feeling of having all the time in the world very relaxing. I felt like I had received a special gift – a round tuit. I love to quilt, and as every quilter knows, we have many UFOs (unfinished projects) hiding away to be finished "later." The "Safer at Home" policy provided plenty of "later" and I enjoyed working on projects that had been forgotten. In addition, the "time" provided an opportunity to work on a book that I had been hired to edit. Another benefit was that our dog Sydney, was very happy to be with us 24/7. Lastly, and perhaps most appreciated by me, was I didn't have to grocery shop, which is my least favorite activity in the world. We were fortunate to have friends and family who shopped and delivered groceries to us. ~ Sandra Caton The closure of the golf course has benefited me in two ways. First, my personal budget is much better off without having to carry the cost of lost golf balls. Second, not having to watch any golf balls hit the 9th and 18th greens and somehow still end up lost in the water has reduced my stress level and really improved my outlook on life in general. ~ Bob Gold I called people in our District who live alone to check on them and met some lovely people that I would never have met otherwise. Hopefully when this is all over, we will have the opportunity to meet face-to-face and perhaps get together for a cup of coffee and more conversations. Plus I learned how to use Instacart! ~ Anita Lawrence A big shout out to our Master Board and administration for all they have done to help us and encourage us during this time. Hopefully we are all enjoying driving around our village and seeing flags and lights and signs to cheer us. Our many talented musicians have also provided wonderful "porch" entertainment which we can all enjoy – keeping our social distance of course. It has been wonderful to see all of the kindnesses happening – like making masks, leaving little hand-painted rocks around for us to find, and picking up needed items for those in need. We are indeed blessed to live in Sun Lakes! ~ Marcia Gold Silver Linings

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