A New Perspective On Rebirth

Just as our poor, over-frozen crepe myrtle tree out back is struggling to get its new growth going this year, we are struggling to get back to a life that feels more like "normal."

Masks are now optional at my workplace, though most staff still wear them, especially on the public floor.

Another oddball item, apropos of absolutely nothing, is that evidently ABLE is cracking down on the grocery stores that sell beer and wine, and now, instead of telling the cashier your (Obviously over- 21) birthdate, you do , in fact, have to produce your ID to prove your age.  Good grief, Charlie Brown, I've been over 21 for 40 years now, and believe me, I look it.  I didn't even get carded when I WAS barely 21.  All this is on my mind because I got my brunch ingredients together at the local market, and then had to leave my sparkling wine behind because I had only just grabbed my debit card on my way out the door, since I was walking.  Left the wine with the cashier, and walked home and got my whole wallet, so I  could show my ID.  Oh well, lots of extra steps!  Honestly, people, if I have to have wrinkles and grey hair, at least I should get some benefit from them - like not having to haul my ID out just to pick up a bottle of Asti Spumanti! *End Rant*

So this is the first Sunday back in the choir loft for me.  After more than a year.  It is familiar, but very different.  So many things these days are familiar but different.  This is what the pandemic has done to us, it has taken away all our comfortable, familiar things, and upended us into a strange, new world.

I was up at 6 am this morning.  That almost NEVER happens for me.  I am a night owl who stays up reading well after midnight most nights.  But last night, I set my alarm, and I went to sleep, and I made it safely out of bed by 6.  I got myself together, adequately caffeinated, and on the road in time to get situated before choir warm up.

It's not the same liturgy I've been used to for years, but I know it well enough.  It's different people for the most part, that I'm singing with. One absence would be the same even if everything else were as it used to be.  My friend Gail is not here.  She died just as all the pandemic shutdowns were starting, of an unrelated illness.  Choir isn't the same without her, and I miss her a lot.  

My voice isn't used to being awake and functioning so early in the day.  I am struggling with just what balance I need between allergy remedies.  Things are either too mucky, or too dry.  Neither is good for singing.  It'll work out, though, and I'll be better as I get more used to the schedule, and maybe even train myself (and the reluctant spouse) to go to bed earlier and get up earlier all the time.

In so many ways we are finding our way through unfamiliar territory that feels like it ought to be familiar.  It's almost like a waking dream, where you know where you are, but you don't recognize anyone, or know what you're supposed to be doing.  The library is feeling a bit this way, too, as more people realize they can come in and browse for their books instead of just ordering online for pickup.  

Not all the unfamiliarity is bad.  It is good to find new friends, to learn different responses in liturgy, to pay more attention and therefore appreciate the service more.

It is good to be awake before the neighborhood wakes up, to hear the birds just beginning to sing, to see the first rays of the sun on the flowers.  

Another benefit to singing the earlier service is that I get home earlier in the day, and have more of my Sunday available for leisure pursuits, or catching up on things.

Today, I made us a nice brunch of little croissant sandwiches with ham, turkey, and Swiss cheese.  I also made a mimosa (or two). There were fresh strawberries, and I splurged and had a slice of the Peppermint Patty Cake left from yesterday's dinner with friends.  

I took a long walk, I had time and energy to work on this blog post, and I suppose I'll get that last load of laundry folded and put away, too.

I do miss the folks I always sang with before who aren't in the choir I'm in now, but I'm getting to know some people I didn't have the chance to get to know before, and some new people, too.  It will be all right.  

This strange, new post-lockdown world is going to feel awkward for awhile, I'm sure. This will be true in many areas of our lives as we get used to doing the "same old things" in a bit of a new way.  There are benefits to all the hand washing, and even the mask wearing in large crowds.  Did you, or anyone you know, have the flu or a bad cold in the last year?  Well... that could be because of hand washing and mask wearing.  If the germs can't get at you, you can't catch the bug! Still, I only wear my mask at work, or when I know I'm going to be in a crowded indoor space for more than a couple of minutes.  I have been fully vaccinated, but better safe than sorry.

Doing things differently is always an opportunity to grow.  It's a chance to stretch beyond our comfort zone and reach out to others that maybe we didn't notice before, being buried in our accustomed routine.  God speaks in all those stretchy places, in all those not quite comfortable moments, and prods us to remember love, and grace, and the joy of just being in this place at this time.  Here's hoping that as things get to feel more normal and comfortable, we still hear that voice calling us to remember love, joy, and grace.  We all need as much of those as we can get.