Good Friday and the Work of the Day

It has been a long time since I had to work on Good Friday.  But in a few hours, I go to the office.  I will continue with the week's work:  reassembling binders, getting the room ready for the accreditation visit, observing a faculty member who is new--I hope that she remembers that we do not have Good Friday off.

I'm usually travelling on Good Friday or preparing to travel--I often go on a retreat that happens the week-end after Easter, and I leave on the Tuesday or Wednesday after Easter.  Again, this year, I'm staying put.  It's too close to the accreditation visit for me to feel OK about a multi-state trip, and I have no vacation time earned at this point.

This morning, I got up early to take my sister and nephew to the airport--lots of people are travelling today.  Now I will do some laundry and go to the grocery store to buy a few items for the week-end.  Later today, I'll go to Good Friday evening service with my spouse and parents. 

We've had a good Holy Week, although not the usual kind, as we haven't been in church.  We've had family come in waves, and we've enjoyed good food together, along with a bit of travel, a bit of beach time, and lots of laughter.

It's not the first year that my emotions have been out of sync with the rhythms of the liturgical year.  Often we get to Easter, and I'm surprised to find myself unable to move out of the grief of Good Friday or Ash Wednesday.  Some years I'm just a bit deadened.  This year I'm an odd mixture of exhilarated/terrified with the progress towards the accreditation visit, along with being exhausted--that's my work life.  I'm also feeling that odd dislocation that comes from working long hours--I feel out of touch with my local friends, who have all spread to the winds as my old school has let people go.

And now, it's time to head to work.  Let me stay alert today, open to all the ways that God comes to us, all the salvation that is offered.