Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay
BY: RACHEL WUMKES
I have a complete love/hate relationship with social media. Anymore, it seems to either be a barrage of incessant complaints, or impeccably posed photos to represent the ‘perfectness’ of one’s life.
I will admit, however, that the memories feature is, by far, my favorite aspect. Sometimes I must laugh as a memory pops up from 8 years ago and I realize I’m literally wearing the same shirt. I love seeing my kiddos when they were wee little things, doing all the cute stuff they used to do before they became opinionated, mouthy pre-teens.
But it was this morning that made that big muscle on the left side of my chest clench. My eyes leaked a bit as I read the post from this time last year. A time of turmoil, of uncertainty, of downright fear because stores were forced to be closed. We didn’t know how long it would last. We didn’t know if we’d ever get back to some sort of normal.
What we did know, is that this community pulled together for one of the greatest campaigns of all time.
In a matter of 34 minutes, we were able to sell 1370 gift cards to local stores, pumping a little over $41,000 into the economy.
It’s a memory I will look forward to having pop up on my social media for years to come. We didn’t just wear shirts and talk a big game, together… we actually rose. And from the debacle of COVID-19 last year, I think we are all a little better from it.
But it’s easy to forget. Not that we do it on purpose, intentionally refusing to shop local. It’s just that life gets in the way and we forget how much they still need us. The little guy is not out of the woods yet. Small business owners will likely feel the affects of the mandated closures for some time as they slowly recoup their losses. So, we, as Clear Lakers, must continue to step up to the plate for them and shop local whenever possible.
Speaking of ‘life as we knew it’ more Earth Day celebrations are scheduled to be held in City Park on Saturday. Obviously, because of COVID, they were cancelled last year, but you may not remember waaaay back to 2019 when it couldn’t be held because of SNOW.
Thus, we are beyond excited for all the Outdoor Fest events to be back in City Park to celebrate Mother Earth. For a full list of events, be sure to find their event on Facebook or go to www.earthdayclearlake.org.
As always, it’s been another great week, Clear Lakers. Hopefully, the spring temperatures continue to rise as we make our way through this final month of school (can you believe it?) and sail on into another summer of fun at the Lake!