As I write this email, Green Love Kitchen has been closed going on for 2 months. Every fiber of my being wants to believe that the future has to be a little better than right now. That somehow we can smudge away the events of the first part of this year and enter into Anu. And as we set to open two days from now, Green Love is unsure how we will be received by the community. We, like many other small businesses, were ill-prepared for the COVID-19 Pandemic and the perfect storm it brought along with it. Everything that was normal became trivial. From shopping at the store to going to the park; we all were suddenly jolted into survival mode. Schools shut down and suddenly all of our children were home and full of energy. Rumors on top of rumors were spreading and you couldn’t know what was fact from fiction. So we acted accordingly and took our last customers on April 6, 2020.
We honestly did not think we would be closed this long, however, the situation kept escalating. As a family, we took advantage of the time. Business for us was not the priority. Traveling was out the picture, so like everyone else, we “sheltered in place”. Two months later and still no end in sight to the madness, we must acquiesce-this is the new normal. Yes, when you go out, wearing a mask and glove, are the proper attire (anything else is uncivilized). And no, you can’t go to a Jazz concert (unless it’s on Zoom). Truthfully speaking, I am not a fan of graduations or birthdays online. Green Love Kitchen is known not just for the wonderful tasting food, but the human connections, and intimate experiences.
What does the future hold? We in the holistic healing community rely heavily on the simple truths of life. The most fundamental being, “let food be thy medicine”. As we adjust and adopt may we never forget this simple truth. The future has the potential to be anything we choose. The two things we cannot control, the spread of the virus and racism, we must not give energy to. Collectively may we look to a future a little brighter than today. May the ones who did not make it this day, watch over us as we try to pick up where you left. And may the Green Love Kitchen community continue to show us support in the safest way possible.