It's Spring, It's Cold. A Boulder Tragedy and a Talkative Little Girl

 Dear Joanie,

    Yes, it's cold, about 18 degrees as I'm writing. These are the days in the Rocky Mountains when we all feel weary of winter, when the snow keeps coming, and when we say, trying to be upbeat, "We need the moisture." That's true, of course. We depend on snow pack for our water supply, and winter was very dry. But we had almost three feet of snow about two weeks ago, and we've had snowy days ever since.  

    We need the moisture. At age 81, I'm still a good snow shoveler. It took me two days to dig out from the huge snowstorm. I actually don't mind the job, but this snow was wet and heavy. The snow plow pushes up huge chunks of icy snow as it passes by, and I end up by picking those up and throwing them in the creek.  Shoveling helps me clear my mind as I clear the snow. And, of course, we need the moisture.

    I need to talk to you about our Boulder tragedy, one of many that has happened over the past, say, 20 year. I'm talking about a mass shooting. In our case, it happened at the local supermarket. A deeply disturbed young man managed to purchase an assault rifle. He opened fire in the grocery store. Ten people were killed, including a police officer who was first on the scene, my dance teacher's best friend, an actor, a developmentally disabled person who worked at the store, a grandfather, a store owner--all simply doing the mundane task of getting groceries on a Monday afternoon, or, as employees, sacking groceries, managing the store itself.  

    I might not be mentioning this tragedy to you if it were some anomaly, something that happened out of the blue and wouldn't happen again, possibly ever. But that's not the case. I'm telling you about it because I have long been an advocate for gun control and that includes a ban on  assault weapons. You will learn, I hope, of the history of gun violence in this country and also the opposition to it, lead by very powerful organizations. It's disgraceful. And I have lost heart, because each times something happens like what happened in Boulder on Monday, people say "Enough is enough! Something has to happen now, so that we'll never see a mass shooting again."  And then it happens again and again, and people say, well, you know what they say.  So, right now, I've given up on any kind of change.  When I see a police car in Boulder, I wave, I say, "I'm so sorry." And then I burst into tears. What will your world be like, I wonder.

    The one bright spot in my life has been the pictures your parents have been posting.  You in a swing, you in a walker, making noises and having fun.   Your grandmother Coco gave us a digital frame that rotates pictures, and every time one of you pops up, Dougie and I stop what we're doing and gaze on your bright, intelligent, beautiful self. 

    Hoping for warmer weather and happier times,

            GG Katie

It's Been a Year of Lockdown, and You are Crawling!

 Dear Joanie,

    As I've said above, it has indeed been a full year since everything shut down on account of COVID-19. People all over are marking the year, mostly by reminiscing where they were and what their expectations were a year ago at this time. 

    Our expectations were this: We had begin the season of Lent, and your great grandfather and I are faithful Episcopalians and observe the liturgical seasons of the church, as we are doing now, since we are once again in the Lenten Season. (For this year, I'm leading a Lenten devotional series featuring the poet Emily Dickinson. You will get to know her, I'm sure.)

    As Lent began and we were told about the shutdown, we carefully read and listened to all our restrictions.  All nonessential services were closed. We were to avoid being out in public. Grocery stores were open (and, in Colorado the marijuana dispensaries were open as well, their being deemed an essential service).  We were frightened, but optimistic. A shutdown would clearly help stop the spread of the virus, and we wanted to do our part. Eventually masks were required everywhere we went.  I got some homemade ones from a friend, purchased some online. 

    Here is what we were thinking: we can do this thing. And it's Lent, a perfect time for introspection, discernment, meditation, and isolation. And that was true. 

    Here is also what we were thinking: We can do this thing because by Easter, in a mere six weeks, we'll all be back together again. We'll be celebrating at the Easter Vigil and on Easter Sunday, and once again be singing together, saying the Lord's Prayer together, and most importantly, taking communion, the Eucharist, together as we kneel at the altar rail to receive the bread and the wine. Our rituals are an important part of our spiritual lives, nurturing us in the spirit as we go out into the world to be the hands and feet of Christ, of serving the world in a Christ-like way. Just six weeks? We've got it.

    How naive we were. Right now, a year later, as we've witnessed more that 500,000 deaths in this country, we have awakened to our understanding that things will never be the same as they were before COVID.  Even if we are to have in-person church anytime soon,  we will keep social distancing, communion, if it is offered, will not consist of drinking from the common cup. Coffee hour? Probably not. In other words, we are utterly rethinking who we are as Episcopalians and what that means for our future.

    But be assured. Online Morning Prayer each Sunday offers us chances to ssee one another and share our lives together in way not possible before. We offer petitions for prayer in the Chat area of Zoom, for example.  We're divided into small groups for our "coffee hour." Parishioners offer up photos that appear on pages as the Psalm is sung. We gather with people who have moved away from Boulder, but who have sought us out during this time. 

    To quote Julian of Norwich: "All will be well. All manner of things will be well."

    Your mother has signed up for her first vaccine.

    We watched with delight as you eyed a toy from across the rug, planned your strategy to get to it, set off crawling, and reached it, immediately putting it into your mouth. We have watched that video many times. 

    We send you our love. Today we are in Florissannt, Colorado, visiting our friend Ellen. It has been snowing all day.

Island of Iona,  the Hebrides

 

    GG Katie