TriChicks Adapt in These Uncertain Times

Vicki Carter

The word “resilient” is perhaps overused these days, but it best describes this group of 15 women who call themselves the PebbleCreek TriChicks.

All fall and winter, we trained together for the Peoria Triathlon on March 8. Many medals were won, but, more importantly, everyone succeeded and had fun. The athletic supporters (aka husbands) were there to cheer us on. A delicious après tri brunch was enjoyed by all.

We are thankful to have been able to enjoy the camaraderie of the group and finish the season with the triathlon.

Right now, we are thankful for the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, and all those working to support us. We are fortunate to live in PebbleCreek where people care about one another. We appreciate the leadership of the PC staff in finding ways to support us, as well as our beautiful surroundings. Fortunately, technology helps us connect with our families and friends, and also have virtual classes for exercise and to learn new skills.

Adversity challenges us but can guide us to explore new ideas. Communication, caring, and sharing are what the TriChicks are all about. We use email, texts, WhatsApp, etc. for daily chats, and we discovered a new app, Zoom. We all gathered via Zoom on March 27 to celebrate our year-end and special birthday party. It was a little chaotic with 13 chicks chatting all at once, but it was a lot of fun. In addition, our annual Chick Book List, which we all contribute to each spring, was expanded to include recommended movies and TV series.

With our Monday workouts cancelled, we decided to challenge one another. Many took up the challenge of walking, biking, or running all the PebbleCreek streets, following the map included with the Source Book. Another challenge resulted in a hilarious video using the Marco Polo app. Organizing 50 years of photos is keeping another chick busy. Conversations in Spanish keeps two of our Canadian and American chicks in touch.

“I’m finding a beauty in this very scary time in the world—a juxtaposition of very powerful feelings in opposite directions,” was how one of our chicks put it. The quilters in our group provided a link to Bluprint which is offering a free two-week trial for a range of courses. Our steel pan band chick and her husband plan to do a play out for neighbors.

As with so many, several of us have family and friends directly affected by COVID-19. It’s a stressful time and being safe and feeling cared about is so important. Our seamstresses not only made beautiful practical masks for us, but for health care workers as well. Creatively decorated health rocks have mysteriously appeared in each of the chicks’ gardens, representing the care and special talents of a secret chick.

We share these experiences with you not to brag about what we are doing, but to show how one group of PebbleCreekers is adapting during this difficult time.