The first day of April gave us…snow! Not a lot. Not even a little. Just a smattering. Just enough to see Mother Nature snub her nose at us and remind us who’s boss. There were just a few scattered flakes when I left for town. My dermatologist took a little shave biopsy of a place on my chest that continues to bug me. She says it’s probably nothing. Of course, that’s what the doctor said when it turned out I had a melanoma, so I err on the side of biopsy. 

Thirty-one years ago today, Daughter #2 was born. Like April, she came in like a lion and never changed. She is smart, beautiful, sensitive, talented, and much stronger than she gives herself credit for. Like many people who get a college degree, she ended up hating both the restaurant business and management. There wasn’t enough room for her to march to her own drum. She starts a new job next week after spending the pandemic year as a “house spouse” and she’s very excited. Knowing her as I do, there is also a small amount of trepidation “going back out there.”

We’ve talked a little bit about the anxiety some people are experiencing as the pandemic slowly begins to fade out and they’re faced with being social again. If you look around at your family, friends, and acquaintances, you are bound to find some who really struggled with staying home and away from people. And you’re just as likely to find some who really seemed to thrive in all that aloneness. I’m kind of a combination personality…I’m an extroverted introvert. I love people AND I love my space and my freedom and a certain amount of alone time. 

I knew as soon as we had our second vaccine and waited the required two weeks for full immunity, I would have to face the world again on the world’s terms. I also knew from past experience…in order to make that transition more palatable, I need to get out and do more things around people. A little…desensitization therapy. When I came out of the doctor’s office yesterday, my very first instinct was to jump in the truck and head home. Instead, I went to a coffee shop.

As little as a month ago, I wouldn’t have considered going into a coffee shop and sitting down to read with a really great latte. It would mean taking off my mask…inside…with other people. Did I say INSIDE? Yikes! I pulled up out front and looked in. Ok, there weren’t a lot of people. I wore my double mask to order then took my warmed up cinnamon roll and coffee and found a chair off in the corner by the front window. If too many people came, I could make my escape.

I looked down at that sweet treat on my plate and I knew it would just sit there and get cold if I didn’t hurry up and make a decision. I took off my mask, closed my eyes to thank God for scientists and vaccines, leaned back…and enjoyed the heck out of that experience! I read a few articles, answered a few texts, savored that cinnamon roll ever so slowly, and sipped my coffee. Good to the last drop!

I love this particular coffee house. It’s owned by a woman who spend a great deal of time in Central America as a missionary. When she returned, she wanted to recreate the “bodega”…the central market where people gathered to shop, eat, and commune with each other. Hence…The Bodega was born. With Praise music playing in the background, I looked around at the people. A kind, rather zen fellow walked by and said, “I love your hair….the way you’re wearing it.” He and his lady friend went to a table in the window to drink their coffee and play chess. I’ve taken to wearing two long braids…like Pollyanna. I don’t know why…but I like the dichotomy of braids and grey hair. I don’t really “wear my age.” I wore leggings before leggings were cool. So, why not wear braids?

There was a tutor working with a little boy. “I…do…not…LIKE…….green…eggs…and…ham!” He read with a clear voice and was immensely proud of himself. A woman sat down at a small table for two, with two drinks. She sat and sat, looking at her watch, staring at her phone. Finally she sighed, picked up the spare drink to take with her and threw her empty cup in the trash on her way out. A man and a woman worked on lesson plans for a class and a group of friends enjoyed lunch together talking with great animation…their hands waving in the air for emphasis.

My friend Kathy from church texted me. I told her where I was. She said if I could wait thirty minutes, she’d come down to visit me. We had a long, lovely talk together. I hadn’t seen her to really sit and talk since this time last year. There was a lot to catch up on, and we reluctantly parted a full two hours later. We held hands and prayed together before we made our goodbyes. I love that. 

I went on to run the rest of my errands and headed home, dinner in hand, to greet my sweetheart. He kept the home fires burning for me. Good thing, because it was darned cold! All told, I’d say my trip into the fray was a marked success. This will make the next trip easier and each successive one easier still. And soon, things will begin to feel more normal…even with the precautions we should continue to embrace till we get free of this captor. Soon, our chains will fall.

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“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28 ESV