I'm Sorry It Took This, But...

r note, one of the results of our head-on collision with this pandemic has been some creative social distancing. For example, on several occasions of late, we have had friends join us in our front yard for conversation. (There is nothing quite like imposed isolation to make you appreciate some face-to-face conversation, even if those you are talking to are six plus feet away and the hugging or shaking hands is put aside.) After all Zoom has its limits.

There have been additional benefits over and above the joys of such conversations. We have been outside. The weather has been good for the most part, at least early and late. I have been reminded again just how many squirrels there are in the live oaks and pecan trees in our neighborhood. Also we are blessed with a large variety of birds to watch and enjoy. Our new neighbors across the back fence have put up several bird feeders enhancing our area as a gathering place for jays, doves, wrens, and even the occasional owl. I have even come, on occasion, to appreciate black birds.

The “in place” restrictions have made walking more attractive to people as a way of exercising and getting away from the house. When I am out, I have run into some of the same people enough times that we recognize each other and share greetings across the street. We also see walkers go by our house while we are sitting in the yard. Most often we greet each other, although occasionally someone is engrossed in their smart phone and too involved to be aware of the people that they are walking by, but they are the exception. It is especially fun to talk to the children, and I love to watch those who roll down the hill our lawn creates.

Another joy is observing all the dogs. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. By and large, they just seem delighted to be out and about, and they somehow manage to communicate that delight not only to their owners, but to those of us who get the enjoyment of watching them trot, even prance, by.

I would be the last person to try to tell you that all of this disruption of our lives is a totally unmixed blessing. It is not. There are incredible hardships being imposed by the presence of this sickness (and our current racial pain and politics as well), the implications of which we have yet to even begin to realize and which will likely be with us for a significant time into the future. Our patterns have been disrupted. Our established rituals have had to be rethought or pushed aside. 

All of that is true, but in the midst of it all, there have been some small and maybe not so small blessings. We have remembered the importance of community. We have actually met and talked to some of our neighbors. We have come to understand the importance of some people we have taken for granted. We have recovered some time outdoors with an attendant mindfulness of the world of nature that surrounds us. In those ways we are richer than we were. I certainly would not ask for a time such as this, but since we are where we are, I hope that we can mine the possibilities available and come to see our lives in a different and richer context.