The leaves
on the large tree outside of my window turn from green to yellow, red, and then
brown, and today, without a wind, they seem to be falling faster than I’ve ever
noticed. It’s beautiful and comforting knowing that summer has retreated, and
we are moving well into a new season.
Pre-pandemic,
I found myself at times, falling into a routine that could provide comfort one
day and uneasiness the next. Wake up, run/exercise, shower, drive to work, work
9-5, come home, spend time with the family, watch a little TV, sleep – repeat.
It was nice, but there was some staleness to it – especially the 9-5 portion of
the day.
In February,
I left my place of employment after a 20-year run. I settled into an
interesting few weeks, where I searched for other jobs and had some down-time
to relax and reflect on my next moves.
March
arrived, and so did the national shut-down as everyone tried to figure out how
to live in the new normal.
Summer sets
in, and we develop a routine as a family to provide the boys with a sense of
normalcy in the middle of this crisis. It was a pleasant routine – wake up
without an alarm, run/exercise, eat breakfast together, head out for a walk
together, sit outside for most of the day, eating, lounging by the pool in the
backyard. The evening would come, we’d head out on another walk, have dinner
together and perhaps go on a third walk. We ate a lot of watermelon and ice
cream. Listened to music and goofed off. It was a great summer.
August
arrives, and I started a new job. Wake up at 6:00, run/exercise, make
breakfast, shower, but the time clock and the timeclock is punched when I sign
into MS Teams at 8:00 in the morning. Spend a good part of the day in front of
a computer working from home. I am fortunate. We are all able to be together
during this time, and I think that one day when we’re old and reflecting on
this time, we’ll have very fond memories of the time spent together.
I don’t know
if I find routines comforting or not. I value the knowledge that there is the
predictability of a routine, and I know it’s suitable for the boys. I do
wonder, though, if there is a loss that I am experiencing without the
unpredictability.
The main
character in this short story finds himself going through a routine of fixing
farmer’s
water pumps and his routine life take s a turn for the worse after an encounter
with a lonely woman on a dusty farm.
Disruptions
in my modern life seem to consist of car trouble, internet connectivity
issues…that sort of thing. Pretty minor.
But what
lies just below the surface of this thin reality of everyday life is the chaos
of uncertainty that will poke through and cause quite the most unpleasant
disruptions on rare occasions.
The chaos
visited us in March…we’re still living through it.
What will
happen the next time chaos pokes through our thin reality?
How will we
react? How will it alter our lives?
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