Jan 05, 2024 |
WLSU, Back At It
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulWLSU, Back At It
Here we all are, emotionally hungover from the beautiful haze of the holiday season. So much planning and traveling and visiting and hosting and partying and wrapping and gift giving. So many expectations – some met, and some frustrated. We’re wondering if we’re really supposed to get back to life and work as usual. As I write these words, I am surrounded by decorations still needing to be boxed up, and a tree that in a few days will be stripped of its ornaments and hauled to the curb. But right now I’ve got to do all the normal work things. All those people to whom I said, “Let’s check in after the New Year,” well, it’s the New Year, and it’s time to check in.
My kids were not at all interested in going back to school. My daughter, in particular, was livid because they scheduled the first day back to cruelly coincide with her birthday. She thought maybe it was a conspiracy.
She doesn’t hate school, and you probably don’t hate your work, your commitments, your normal routine. But the dread of returning to it, of putting back on real pants, and eating reasonably, and basically just acting like a civilized human in this world again, sometimes just feels like too much.
And what I think I want to tell you today is not just that that’s normal or that it’s ok, but that it might even be a little holy.