A week in the life of “stay at home”

Saturday- my husband’s business trip is being cut short due to the imminent pandemic. He’s on his way home through a nearly empty airport. My choir rehearsal still takes place, although I suspect that the concert next month will be cancelled. It’s good to sing together. I pick up groceries on the way home at a place I usually go to once per month or so. No need to make dessert for church tomorrow because the pot luck lunch has been cancelled. I go to the 4pm church service because effective tomorrow there will not be an in-person church service. The communion assistant puts on a medical glove to distribute individual cups. When I see the bright glove over the tray of cups, I start to cry. Communion was never a top priority for me, but today it is. We go out to eat for dinner, not knowing that restaurants will be closed to dine-in customers soon.

 

yoga "before"

Sunday- today is the first time that I am not allowed to go to church because the doors are locked for safety reasons. Many online services are offered, from my former congregation in Massachusetts to the National Cathedral. I go to the gym, not knowing this will be the last time, and to Target, where shelves of canned beans are empty, except the vegetarian baked beans, which is what we eat anyway (but wouldn't normally buy there- went for something else- but got some beans). No toilet paper in sight, but we have enough already. Online school meeting at 9pm to talk about what kinds of support we need. I have an idea, and of course as soon as I say it, someone nominates me to be in charge of implementing it! Thankfully, another student volunteers to help.

warm enough to go outside!

Monday- school for me had been online since last September, so nothing new. Previously scheduled telephone call with a professor at a different university regarding my research project. Their classes are going online, so lots of changes. Went to return library items and the door is locked. School chapel has in the past been broadcast by a stationary camera for off campus students, but now it’s held by Zoom so we can all see each other and offer prayer requests in the chat box. We are muted to prevent background noise, but we are unmuted for the Lord’s prayer. It is amazing to hear each other from so many states away, and see the boxes on zoom highlight people’s faces as they pray.

Tuesday- Bible study is offered by zoom, and we pray together electronically even though we live just a few minutes away from each other. My yoga teacher offers a free Facebook live class, which is wonderful. Another regular school class. Another grocery store I've never been to for just a few things- our pantry and freezer are full but it’s uncertain how many days we might go without being able to leave the house, plus fresh veggies are better than frozen. Another school meeting about how things are changing, which mostly affects students who live on campus. It’s great to have lots of communication, even if the answer sometimes is “we don’t know.” 

 

yoga "after"

Wednesday- school, Chapel, previously scheduled oil change. Should I cancel or keep this appointment? Support a business while it is still open? The waiting room had bad news blaring from the TV, so I walked around the outside of the building and called people on the phone(!), which was nice. Choir is cancelled because the churches where the rehearsals and concerts will be are closed. The gym has also closed, and they are offering Facebook live classes, which I participate in. Good workout for someone like me who could use some strength training.

 

our small village library is open a few extra days but not any more

Thursday- should I keep my haircut appointment? Yes, the situation might get worse so I’ll support this business as long as she’s open. Different grocery store stop en route yields some good finds (no TP, still don’t need it). Online school presentation goes well- I’m used to this. Screen fatigue due to more yoga and gym via computer screen. Veterinarian cancelled the cat’s annual physical and rescheduled for April (she’s purrfectly fine with that).

now I have time to hang art work

Friday- Another phone meeting for my research project, Chapel, and my favorite weekly online journal club. In addition to regular journaling, we have a variety of prompts and also doodling sometimes- it’s really fun! Best ever school dance party via zoom! Well, more fun than being stuck at home! Our cat and someone else’s dog and another cat are featured during the dance party. Hamster dance, y’all!

 

there's a cat between the cover and the futon...

Saturday- the maple festival has been cancelled- no pancake brunch with friends from Syracuse. School hymn sing by zoom- not as good as in person, but pretty great!

What I’m learning in school this semester

Sooo, what’s new in school-land? Here is a photo of my textbooks. I was also supposed to buy a Bible “commentary”, but I didn’t because I have access to a bunch of different commentaries for free through the school library. Last semester I read parts of a different commentary every week for my course on “Minor Prophets”, which was interesting- both the class and seeing the different commentaries. My favorite at the time was a commentary about women in the Bible. 3 commentaries into the new semester, and I like Charles Swindoll’s style the best of those 3.

My fancy vocabulary is increasing exponentially, but I’d still rather talk and write “normal”. My favorite new word is “polyvalence”, which does not mean that I have a lot of curtains (although I do). It means that when each person reads the Bible they can understand it in a different way based on their own life experience and perspective. That is refreshing to hear!

Next, I recommend the book “Sacred Pauses” by April Yamasaki. I’ve read several books about trying to lower the amount of craziness and running around in our lives. This text approaches quiet time with respect, rather than mocking it according to our historical “Puritan work ethic”. Working hard is fine, but you don’t have to prove your value by being busy all of the time. I look forward to reading a chapter or two each week throughout the semester.

Our new house has built in bookcases!

I am writing a paper about something that I first learned at Simmons College (now University) in Boston. Research has shown that teachers may not realize how they call on boys more often than girls in classrooms. Attending a women’s college allowed space for women to be leaders, to answer ALL questions in the classroom, and to not worry about what boys/men/boyfriends/ex-boyfriends, etc. thought about what they were saying. There were plenty of opportunities for friendships and dating relationships in Boston, and the classroom was reserved for women’s academic advancement. My question now is: do women have stronger faith development experiences in single-gender Bible studies?

Finally, a course on faith development and discipleship. We’ve already finished a book by Austin Channing Brown, “I’m Still Here”, which I also highly recommend. More interesting books are on the syllabus for the spring semester. As always, holler if you have comments or questions!