Searching for a New Normal

I can't be alone in trying to settle into some kind of routine in this time of upheaval.  As I mentioned earlier, I'm sticking close to home due to chronic conditions and age.  At first, I did the teenager thing - stayed up really late (reading), slept in, hung out in pj's.  After about 24 hours, that felt awful.  I've mentioned to my husband that I could tear through some of the projects around my house if only I was home-bound for awhile.  I was thinking a medium-sized snow storm.  Be careful what you wish for.

So I'm trying to tackle some things that take more concentration than I can normally muster.  Today's adventure was setting up the Wii.  My gym (the local Sr. center - gym for old farts) is closed until further notice.  No Kristen yoga classes for awhile, and no treadmill for walking.  I'm happy to report I did get the contraption attached to the TV.  We also moved the entertainment center out from the wall, cleaned behind it, sorted books before returning them to the shelves, and vacuumed the room. That feels like a good day's work.  And I'm really good at Wii Resort table tennis.  I did get irked at the fitness disc for telling me I'm overweight and weak - grrrr.  You try throwing a saddle up on a tall horse!  Can't argue with it about needing to shed a few pounds.  Maybe that will also come out of our exile.  We've been cooking up a storm and eating healthfully.

As I try to think about the spiritual side of this unprecedented isolation for most of us, I'm oddly reminded of the lengthy season of Pentecost, known to Episcopalians as "ordinary time."  We begin the church year with the season of Advent, four Sundays before Christmas.  It 'should' be a contemplative season to prepare our hearts for the arrival of the Christ child.  That rarely happens, as Advent falls during the frantic weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then, in short order, we're hurled through Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost.  The majority of feast days fall during this first half of the church year.  Around mid-year we arrive, breathless, tongues hanging out, at ordinary time.  There is nothing ordinary about the calamity brought on by COVID-19, but the individual days feel totally bland. I know what day of the week it is because of the labels on my pill sorter. To fill these days with some level of purposeful activity is a personal decision for each of us.

What are you doing to keep your minds alive and your hands busy (you know what they say about idle hands!)?  I hope to work a jigsaw puzzle, fit a dress pattern and sew it up, refashion and rehang the curtains in my den, and continue to build on healthy habits while I'm stuck at home with fewer temptations.  That's in addition to my usual reading and prayer time.  And I'm checking in on friends by phone, e-mail, and IM.  The fates have smiled on us, as my daughter's wedding has been successfully moved from May to August.

I hope all are well and are able to endure this period with minimal worry and risk.  I offer the following as we settle in for what may be a long siege:

Lord Jesus, shield us under the shadow of your wings.  Give us patience in our isolation and boredom.  Provide for those whose livelihoods are threatened by our need for social distance during the threat from the corona virus.  Inspire creative minds to come up with solutions for feeding people and insuring basic services for all.   Empower us to treat each other with kindness and generosity, though we are stressed and scared.  Protect the sick and those who care for them.  Help those who chafe against rules and restrictions to follow protocols that serve the greater good.  In Your Holy Name we pray.  Amen