I Can Only Imagine

As I was unpacking the groceries, I kept seeing things like this:

Funny, it is hard to imagine life beyond 2020. Am I alone here?

Maybe it’s because I’ve watched what the media is pushing out. It’s been quite entertaining. Before 2020, I was too busy to pay attention. I’d ask my husband to fill me in on the pertinent news, and that was enough for me. This year, both religious and political newstreams proclaim that we are in the most profoundly important and epic of times, bar none. End times prophesies are everywhere, with even bigger pronouncements than those that came from the eighties. Whether due to the wrong president getting elected, or the second coming of Jesus Christ, it’s the end of the world they say. It makes us feel that we are closing in on the cultural breaking point. Even local news agencies are reporting record breaking this and thats about earthquakes, storms, and fires. Yesterday we broke the heat wave record here. And we have no air conditioning, which only adds to this otherworldly feeling.

But if I could imagine looking back at this year from a safe distance of a couple of years, what would I remember? What will you remember?

I hope I remember that reading through the Bible was an incredible source of balance, comfort, and joy. It was my rock in the world of shifting sand.

I hope I remember that I gardened more seriously, and I Swedish death cleaned, and I finally processed pesky paperwork tasks. I cooked from scratch, and basically gained control over the little things that add up to big savings.

Most of all, I hope I use this year to push the busy-ness reset button. If anything, 2020 gave me the gift of not being busy. Moving forward, I have the unique opportunity to change up my social obligations. The choices I make to give of myself to others can be re-prioritized to match my personal investment goals. Some people are good at doing this, and don’t need a statewide lockdown that never ends (California), but I did.

I remember being surprised when I spent one college year abroad decades ago. The post offices and banks were always closing down for various holidays. I supposed with more history under their belts, they had more events and kings and queens to observe than we did. And I was fascinated when I saw the flow of business stop every workday at precisely eleven a.m. It was Elevensies, of course! Everyone worked through their 10:00 coffee break back home, but in England, the savoring of a leisurely cup of tea (with milk) with a biscuit or two was observed with national zeal. Maybe productivity didn’t match up with the States, but I think they were on to something there.

Here in the U.S.A., we’ve been given the business reset button. I’m glad our stores have cut their hours and days of operation. I’m glad that people get to work remotely from their homes. This translates into more free time to spend with family, and cook from scratch, and get control of all the pesky little details that eat up the hours. It’s time much better spent than sitting in traffic. (I used to lose 1.5 hours every day on my commute. The day became so much longer when I retired!)

I hope this change is something that I will still see happening on August 19, 2022.

Today is Labor Day. If you’re American, I hope you are enjoying your one day off. I hope you take time to play.

I’m going to play with these happy little blocks today.