Advent Begins

Today is the eve of the First Sunday of Advent. It is already Sunday because the sun has set and the new day begins, according to the Bible, when the sun sets.

It is the beginning of the new Church Year. The Church does not keep time as the world does. Two months ago the stores were decorated for Christmas. The Church will not decorate until the 24th of December. Yes, it is old fashioned and the Church could just give in and go with the times, but I pray that it will not. There is such beauty in these waiting days of Advent. The hymns and readings tug at the soul, revealing each day a bit more until finally the great feast arrives. There are books that move us, books that etch themselves into our minds. For me, one of those books is by Gertrude Mueller Nelson. It's a little paper back entitled "To Dance with God." I read it years ago and still remember much of it. In the book Nelson tells about the various family celebrations that fit into the Church Year. It is a how-to manual of the celebration of the Church Year, the mystery of salvation. She simply tells what her family does/did to celebrate each season. From it I learned for myself how to celebrate each of the seasons. We can learn a lot by looking at the appointed readings and meditating on them. There are a lot of other things we can do to emphasize the seasons. One of the popular things for this season is the Advent wreath. Another is an Advent calendar. I like to use seven day candles instead of the wreath. That way the candle can burn night and day throughout the week. Two candles burn during week two, etc. It's a little pricy to do it this way. The living room becomes increasingly brighter throughout the days until just before Christmas when four candles burn through the day and night. One can tell that the Light is near. Nelson tells us about wonderful things to do during the whole year. This time I had three weeks off from chemo because of Thanksgiving. I must be feeling really well right now because I accomplished so much today. I went for two walks because the day was so lovely and it was nice to be out in the sunshine. I put out the "Advent" decorations in the house. I hung the garland on the deck after putting on the little clear lights. Greens got placed in the one remaining pot on the deck. The evergreen wreath is hung. Three loads of laundry are complete. The Oratory is ready for Advent. I even had time for a little nap and a perusal of the daily paper. Next week I'll return to the wonderful staff at the Prairie Center and they will pump in more medicine. I'll have scans again soon to find out how things are, but I'm not concerned that they will show anything but good news. Sophia appears to have found and claimed a place which she is not about the share. Love the attitude displayed.

COVID continues its ravaging of the state of South Dakota. I actually think a few more people are trying to be careful. The local supermarket finally put signs on the door requesting that patrons wear masks. Lo, when I went in a couple of days ago everyone was wearing a mask. Amazing! As one of the "hot spots" as far as infections, we have a long way to go, however. It only takes one person saying something stupid that people can pick up on to avoid being careful and following protocol. The CEO of one of the two major health systems announced this week that he has had COVID and recovered so he doesn't need to wear a mask because he is now immune. I'm happy he recovered. I know he had the best care. But, really, for a person in his position to make that statement is totally insane. The health system was quick to say he spoke only for himself. The system was also quick to announce his "retirement" the next day. Thanks for reading. Thanks for thoughts and prayers. Thanks for being near in spirit.

November passes quickly

I can not believe that tomorrow begins the last whole week of November. It seems like it just started! As one ages time does fly. There was a lot of sunshine this week which improved my outlook on life considerabely. It surely does seem like there is not much daylight. That little bit will fade even more because the solstice is still a month off.

Those who know me and have visited me at home know the frustration I have with my neighbor. There have been some improvements in the yard, I'm happy to report. The dumpster which filled half of the driveway for at least a month has disappeared and with it some of the detritus that festooned the front garden. The car door which resposed against a tree has somehow vanished. There is still a classic formica table adorning the yard and a few bags of something, but I must admit it is vastly improved. Or was. As I took my late afternoon stroll two mattresses and box springs have been added curbside. These too will disappear one hopes. Residents of the city have devloped a habit of putting "stuff" they no longer want or need out by the curb. Sooner or later it disappears. We have, evidently, a group of scroungers that specialize in cruising the neighborhoods and picking up "valuable" items left out to be taken. The handling of the pandemic continues to baffle me. I vented about the governor last week. One might give her a bit of leeway because she is severely lacking in knowledge of anything medical, it seems. This week sort of put the frosting on the cake! The CEO of one of our two large medical systems announced that he had a bout of COVID, had recovered, and therefore is was not necessary for him to wear a mask, much. He stated with some certainty that he would be impervious to a return of the virus for a few months, at least. He did not state specifically but inferred that there was still room in his hospitals for patients, so bring them on. There are days when one wonders upon which planet one lives. The executive vice-president (who is a former chorister in the Singing Boys, which undoubtedly has a lot to do with his good sense!) immediately announced the CEO was speaking only for himself and not for the whole system. At last the city council revisited and passed a resolution this week on the wearing of masks. They did not impose a penalty for not wearing a mask. I guess one can see this as progress, or something. The mayor approved since there was an elimination of the penalty this time around. I've felt well all week. Now I have another week off because of Thanksgiving Day upon which no infusions shall be commenced. I'll need to be careful on Monday that I don't automatically go to the Prairie Center for my usual. Last week our Omaha trip was cancelled again due to COVID precautions. This week we will try on Monday. I give thanks for all of you, for your prayers and constant support. In this thanksgiving season I have so much for which to be thankful, my heart overflows. Please stay safe and healthy. If you celebrate the national turkey day so with good sense, please.

Dinner Is in the Oven

It’s that time of year when the “root” vegetables are in abundance. In the box of goodies I share with my friend where baby turnips, squash of various manifestations, potatoes, carrots and a pumpkin. This is the product of our CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture). We pay ahead and receive a box of vegetables every week. We don’t choose. We receive what is freshest and best. It’s a great program. In the oven are some potatoes, some carrots, some turnips and a squash. All of it will be delicious, roasted in olive oil and seasoning with that certain taste that only roasting can bring. The week has been good. Mostly I’ve been at home. A couple of Benedictines had visions of going to Omaha on Wednesday. That vision was clouded by a snow storm on Tuesday. We will try again this coming Monday and hope for better weather. It is supposed to be 60º in Omaha come Monday. These quick trips are always fun. We have no Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods in Sioux Falls as yet. Hopefully, one of these days. Those are two stops on our route usually. There is generally something to be purchased at the church goods store. We have a couple of shops in Sioux Falls but not of the caliber of the one there. There’s always an interesting place to stop for lunch. Generally we spend six hours on the road and four hours or less shopping. There’s lots of visiting going to and fro. We also had plans to stream our Tuesday services from our Oratory but by noon the weather seemed untoward enough that I made the executive decision to do Evening Prayer by Zoom. We’ve not had a lot of sunshine this week which affects my SADS. But every now and then the sun will peak out and I instantly feel uplifted. It’s truly amazing how that bright light affects me. The continued tension of the election has not calmed my soul. The rising infection rates in South Dakota do not bring one peace of mind. The governor who refuses to do anything to stop the rate of infection is beyond belief. She claims we all know what to do and will do what is best. If we all know what to do why do we have one of the highest rates of infection in nation? It is pretty obvious that there are a whole lot of people who do not know what to do and they are getting sick. This state is not heavily populated except for the SE and SW corners. We have a lot more people (roughly ⅓ of the state’s population) so we have more infections. We have excellent health care facilities but they are being taxed to the max. The staff caring for patients is exhausted. The mayor recently broke a tie vote on the city council at the second reading of an ordinance to require masks. He voted no. It’s too hard to enforce says he. Costco doesn’t feel a mask mandate is too difficult to enforce. The sign at the door simply says that if you are entering you must wear a mask. If your health prevents wearing a mask you must wear a face shield. Everyone does wear protection. Seems simple to me. We have choices every day. We can choose how we react. I must admit that there are many times I react with anger or dismay. This quote from Henri Nouwen this week spoke to me. Perhaps it will speak to you. “I am convinced we can choose joy. Every moment we decide to respond to an event or a person with joy instead of sadness. When we truly believe that God is life and only life, then nothing need have the power to draw us into the sad realm of death. To choose joy does not mean to choose happy feelings or an artificial atmosphere of hilarity. But it does mean the determination to let whatever takes place bring us one step closer to the God of life. Maybe this is what is so important about quiet moments of meditation and prayer. They allow me to take a critical look at my moods and to move from victimization to free choice.” Thank you for all your prayers and support. I hope you are all staying well.

It Becomes Dark So Early!

Early last Sunday morning daylight savings time ended (should that be capitalized? Language Arts teachers obsess about such things!). Almost all of us got an extra hour of sleep so we awakened so refreshed and revitalized. At least that’s the way it is supposed to work. I suspect many people handle the situation the same way as I. Simply staying up an hour later negates the “too much sleep” syndrome. I know not what my body would do with too much sleep. Six hours is about my max. Then there is the tossing and turning and gazing at the clock with anger and the thoughts rampant in the brain that there is no way I am going to get up and do anything at the hour of 4 AM! Perhaps I should try it. I might be very productive at that hour, who knows? I’ll let you know if I ever attempt that experiment. Things went peachy keen at church on Sunday. Aside from one registration change which I did not make until halfway through the designated measure there were no gross faux pas. It was good to be back at the console. I do love playing the organ. I especially love playing and interpreting hymns. Of course, right now there are no hymns because singing will help to spread the virus. Speaking of spreading, the 3M plant in Aberdeen SD just enlarged their production line so more masks could be produced.

All of the expected politicians were present for the opening/ground breaking, I was a little confused. They were all masked with eyes on the speaker except for our governor who was obvious for being unmasked. Is is any wonder why COVID cases keep rising in South Dakota. The local paper also had an article on the number of people far and wide which may have been exposed to the virus because of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally which the aforementioned governor was happy to sanction and promote. I guess she hasn’t yet figured out that killing off the voters will not help her reëlection in two years. Thankfully the election is over. I’ve been around a long time and seen a lot of politics but these past years have certainly won some kind of prize for divisiveness, lack of respect for the viewpoints of others, downright hatred of those with which you do not agree, etcetera ad infinitum. The only way forward is to relearn how to work with each other for the common good. No country can survive for long unless we have common goals that benefit the community, neighborhood, city, state and nation. In case you were wondering about the shortage of photos in last week blog, something has happened with Blogger. It used to be very easy to insert pictures and captions. Then it was revised and it was a little more difficult to deal with photos. Now, all of a sudden, it’s a near impossibility to insert a photo. Along with that, all formatting is destroyed when one’s text is uploaded. The whole thing is one “run on” paragraph and the font is changed at the whim of the program. Anyone reading last week’s blog do not fault me for the lack of paragraphs. I tried. We’ll see how it behaves this week. This past week was chemotherapy week. All went well. The staff at the Prairie Center is marvelous and very concerned about one’s health and well-being. They could not be more accommodating. My blood work was good. The usual counts were down because of chemo, but the important things, like the sodium level, were good. As the oncologist says, I’m tolerating it well. Now I have three weeks off because of Thanksgiving!

This is the time of year when we are especially thankful for all we have. Sophpia is thankful for the grass she received today. It is the time of year when we are thankful for those who surround us with love. An example of that was presented today when my Benedictine brothers and sister came over and dealt with all my leaves. It is a task which would take me a long time to accomplish. With the group gathered the leaves were bagged and ready to go to the leaf drop-off site. That will be accomplished Monday when another kindly person will come with his truck and haul off the detritus. God has been very good to me. I have been given many gifts. You are one of those gifts. I am grateful for you.