Photo by Gary Bendig on Unsplash

Last evening, we sat out on our back porch during Golden Hour, watching long, gold-tinged shadows reach their fingers along the yards of our neighbors before grasping hold of ours. During the stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re spending more and more time in our backyard, either working remotely on laptops, or taking breaks by puttering in the garden. As a result of all the extra attention, the yard looks great. I’ve planted a great deal of zinnia seeds and tiny baby seedlings are starting to pop up out of the ground. My husband has done most of the heavy lifting, turning over the soil and creating sharp edges around the flower beds, and finally spreading loads of fresh mulch all around. It smells earthy and good.

As we faced the backyard, my daughter gasped.

Look! A rabbit!

We caught sight of two luminous ears beneath a tree. Then, another one emerged from the hostas, and chased the first rabbit. A third joined them, and before we knew it, there were 6 bunnies hopping, leaping, playing, and chasing in the golden light. 

I suspect we sat there for about 15 minutes, watching this Bunny Show, laughing at their antics.

“I’ve never seen so many bunnies in our backyard before,” I exclaimed. 

The second I spoke the words, my husband and I exchanged glances. We both thought of the phrase that keeps cropping up in our conversations. 

This has been here the whole time.

We’ve repeated this a lot over these past months of our state-mandated Slow Down. It seems there’s a lot we miss when we’re running from one obligation to the next. Our blinders go on when we don’t have time to sit for a meal, or have to hurry to someplace important.

When we moved into our small house in 2015, we did a major overhaul of our living space. We got rid of at least 50% of our extra “stuff,” and moved into a much smaller house with much smaller expenses to go with it.

Five years later, this pandemic has pushed us into the next phase of simplifying, forcing us to do what we couldn’t quite do for ourselves: slow down the pace of our daily life. In the quietness, our senses have been heightened. As we walk through our neighborhood with the dog, we are noticing delicious smells wafting from kitchens as people forego takeout and cook more at home. My husband nods approvingly at a home with fresh mulch. 
We’re going through our second layer of simplifying, even if it’s only for a brief interlude.

And so, last evening in the quiet shadows of the setting sun, we said it again. We knew the bunnies have been frolicking in our yard the whole time. It was just that, for the first time, we were sitting still, facing them with our eyes open.

This has been here the whole time.

There’s so much goodness around us, but it’s easy not to notice. I worry that once the pandemic loses steam and we go back to The Way Things Were Before, we might stop noticing all the things that have been there the whole time. 

I don’t want to think about that.

For now, I’m enjoying the fact that my son and daughter are getting along famously.

My husband can still make me laugh after all these years.

My daughter has deep thoughts about world events.

My son longs to do things that matter.

Turns out our basement is a great spot for family movies and games.

Yahtzee is even more fun when played outside in a cool breeze.

This—all of it—has been here the whole time.