Life in these strange times: chocolate and social distancing

On Tuesday, I visited Kelly’s Country Store, which is a really fun place to visit on Grand Island.

In the autumn, the store offers a country fair on its grounds, complete with food trucks, fresh produce, and fun activities for the kids.

There’s even an old one-room schoolhouse on the grounds. Members of the Grand Island Historical Society offer tours of this schoolhouse.

There are interesting artifacts of school in the late nineteenth century, and it really is something to see.


At the end of November, Santa Claus makes his home in the “Christmas room.”

Kids and their parents line up for a chance to talk to Santa and have their pictures taken with him.


All of that seems like a long time ago now. The world has changed dramatically and it continues to change. I have been mostly alone for almost two months. It has not been easy. I had to go within to discover who I was and to pull myself away from self-doubt to the joy of being. I was in a bad place for close to a week. Continuing to document both the good and the bad has helped me to find healing.

And now, watching my world flip from winter to spring has helped me to find joy. So, on Tuesday, I was out walking and I found myself passing Kelly’s Country Store. I saw very few vehicles there, so I put my mask on and went inside. Indeed, there were no other customers in the store, which was still an Easter wonderland. It was a chocoholic’s dreamland. And there I was, alone with the massive quantities of chocolate in the “Easter room.” I could do social distancing and I could experience the true bliss of the Easter room.

For about the five to ten minutes, I was in the room of all of the chocolate that you could ever dream of.
When in this room, you are in chocolate heaven, even if you haven’t managed to win a golden ticket from Willy Wonka to visit his chocolate factory. And, to add to the joy of all of that, all of the Easter chocolate was being sold at 30 percent off. 

It was pure joy. I purchased some luscious dark orange chocolate and then left, feeling happy about walking home. The chocolate was so good. If you want to visit the Easter room, I believe that it is still open.

The people who run the store do a good job in ensuring that it is easy to enjoy the chocolate and practice social distancing. And, when you return home, you’ll have a great taste treat. If you don’t want to go inside, you can order ahead of time, and your order will be brought to your car. Delivery to your home is another option. So… enjoy some chocolate and support a local business!