Today Spring arrives officially--Happy Vernal Equinox! This morning I am writing in Williamsburg, Virginia, where one can see the shifting of the seasons more visibly than in South Florida, where I live. In Williamsburg, some of the trees are still bare, while some, like the pear trees, are blooming. There's a splotch of pink here and there in the branches of other trees, along with some trees studded with red buds. Some of the ground is bare, but one doesn't have to look very far to find clumps of daffodils.
Yesterday, my mom, sister, and I went to the outlets nearby. We wanted to get in and out before it got crowded. In some ways, it was like falling through a hole in time--one could almost believe the last two years of pandemic hadn't happened. Very few people wore masks, but I've gotten used to that, sort of. But I've also been reading about a new, more transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19.
We got our shopping done and headed home. We had thought about taking my mom out for her birthday, but we decided to fix a celebratory meal at home. We spent the afternoon taking it easy. I worked on some seminary assignments, my sister did some work, and my mom and dad took a nap. We took advantage of the mild weather and had our appetizers outside.
It was a lovely evening, and I know how lucky we are to have come through the past 2 years with our health more or less intact. I know how lucky I am to have both of my parents still here. We sat with our appetizers, and I watched people moving about: headed up to the facility where they could get dinner, cleaning up from afternoon chores, getting ready for the day to end.
Today we will go to early church and then to brunch, back at my mom and dad's community where everyone is vaccinated and boosted, so the risk seems minimal. But it will still feel precious to me, this chance to have brunch together, holding the possible ravages of life at bay, just for a few hours.
1 comment:
May we remember how great these things feel that we once took for granted.
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