Thankful Thursdays

For normal days.

Let’s be real, pre-quarantine, many of us whined about our daily routines: “Ugh, I wish I could stay home today!” That was the number one response people gave when surveyed about things they think of on weekday mornings. Then one day that usual routine we complained about drastically changed when Corona came to town. I don’t know about you, but my days now feel like Groundhog Day stuck on an eternal Sunday. I’ve lost track of time. Strangely, the past month has felt like a slow motion whirlwind.

Although my family’s survival mode did kick in a few days into this craziness and we’ve adjusted so far to the current situation, part of me longs for a normal day. One of those normal days I whined about. It now brings to mind the kind of words that make you go “Hmm….”  Mary J. Irion had it right:

“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure that you are.
Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart.
Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.
Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so.
One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow,
or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want,
more than all the world, your return.”

I wonder what our new normal will turn out to be like. For now, I pray the Lord helps us embrace the uncertainty of this pandemic and focus on the positive things it has brought us. Let’s count our blessings.

Still, for normal days, today and always, I am grateful.

What are you thankful for today?

Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.

“It has taken awhile, but I certainly do know it now – the most wonderful gift I had,
the gift I finally learned to cherish above all else, was the gift of all those perfectly
ordinary days.”
-K. Kenison

“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.”
-T. Fuller

[Note: By the way, in case you’re not Spanglish-speaking, “si Dios quiere” means God-willing. Mom finished most of her sentences with that phrase. I added it to my sendoff in her honor after her passing].