UMRA’s April workshop has been canceled. In place of the article that would normally appear in this space, Ron Matross, chair of the UMRA Cares Committee, has provided the following summary of an informal survey he conducted to find out how people are “making lemonade” to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. - Editor

By Ron Matross, chair, UMRA Cares Committee

“When life gives you lemons …” Boy, do we ever have lemons now.  

I thought it would be fun to ask UMRA Cares Committee members and some others how they were coping positively with the coronavirus situation, “making lemonade” as it were.  

Suzanne Bardouche has been sewing protective masks and practicing social distancing by walking the back alleys of her neighborhood. Will Craig has been diving into data, analyzing Minnesota Department of Revenue data to see how Minnesota retailers have been doing against online competitors. Pat Tollefson has been reviving her old hobby of sketching, and memorizing the Mary Oliver poem, Where does the temple begin, where does it end?

Ron Anderson has been re-reading the book that helped inspire his work with the Cares Committee, On Caring by Milton Mayeroff. Maggie Catambay has been painting watercolors and working as a “craftivist,” knitting articles for the needy. 

Earl Nolting has been reading A LOT and making phone calls to reach out to many friends and family members across the country. Helen Carlson has been following a custom exercise program she and her husband put together from YouTube videos and participating in online meetings with groups to which she’s connected.

Kris Mortensen has been baking cookies for family and friends. I have been riding my bike a couple hours a day, meditating, and taking online courses.  

Online resources

We’ve all become increasingly reliant on the Internet to help us stay connected and cope. Fortunately, every day brings new resources for us to use. Here are a few that we’ve found to be helpful:

• Silver Sneakers has a variety of online exercises classes and videos for seniors. tools.silversneakers.com
• The meditation app, Headspace, has a free section called Weathering the Storm, with meditation, sleep, and movement exercises. headspace.com
• The local climbing gym Vertical Endeavors is offering online yoga and fitness classes. verticalendeavors.com/yoga-fitness/online-unwind
• Coursera provides a wide range of free university courses. I’m taking the famous Yale course, The Science of Well Being, which offers practices as well as theory. coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being
• Zoom is the video conferencing app that many people seem to be using these days for online happy hours, club meetings, and other get-togethers. zoom.us
• Several offerings from the U of M Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, including: Pathways to resilience during times of change, a free webinar April 15; Stress busters, a weekly free stress reduction and meditation class; 10 ways to have better conversations, April 23 wellbeing lecture featuring Celeste Headlee; and another free webinar, Mindfulness during challenging times

My trusty steel Silver Stallion, custom made by Strong Frames of Bozeman, Montana, parked here overlooking the Mississippi on the Big Rivers Regional Trail in Mendota. It's not as fast as the Blue Streak, my titanium racing bike, but it's comfortable and just the thing for early season riding. - Ron Matross