For many of us it seems as if our lives have been turned upside down. Casual contact with people has become a thing of the past and a sense of loss pervades our lives as we do without many of the simple pleasures we once took for granted. Even the outdoors, the one safe place where we could socialize at a distance, was made impossible by the smoke for a time. To be pushed back indoors while the last bit of summer played out seemed a cruel a trick, but it's just more of life in all its inconvenient complexity.

Adapting hasn't been easy for most of us. I tend to rely on routines to propel me through the day, and while the upheavals of the spring and summer have forced changes to the routines I'd established, it helps me to remember that just a year ago I was learning the ropes at St. John's and everything was new to me. The current challenges may be different than what we've faced in the past,  but for me the biggest one remains focusing on the here and now, the place where I can be useful.  

These troubles will eventually pass, I trust, but in the meantime I want to live as fully as I can while taking care of myself and others around me. That means I'll soon be getting a flu shot and will continue practicing masking, handwashing, and social distancing, along with whatever else that will help. My goal is to do it as joyfully as I can, because getting all bent out of shape is no way to live.