TIRED

 I'm sure I'm not the only one who is feeling tired these days. I'm hoping it's not because of my age! But with the pandemic seemingly unending as the Delta variant sweeps across the world and young children testing positive, it's hard not to feel tired of it all. Over a year and half of dealing with physical distancing, masks, hand sanitizers, a world lockdown, and trying to return to "normal", here we are still dealing with it all. Just when I began thinking of putting my masks away, I'm still reaching for one when I go out, although, there aren't as many people wearing them and all the stores and businesses that the news said wanted people to wear masks, only the employees seem to be wearing them.

   I really believe my tiredness is a fatigue of all this. I had hoped that with vaccines, by now most of this would've been behind us. Put vaccination rates are lower than expected although rising some with the Delta variant on the move.

    Trying to deal with this fatigue and to help others with it as well. Sometimes, I think we are impatient and expect instantaneous results. The 1918 flu pandemic lasted 2 years until there was very host left and it died out. We're only a year and a half in this and we have a ways to go, if it doesn't mutate yet again. So, we have to stay encouraged and hopeful even when we're sick and tired of it, tired of hearing about it and dealing with it all. 

   Then there's the shortages sometimes of various items, or production of appliances and equipment, and of help in businesses, restaurants, etc. No one seems to want to work any more and yet getting back to "normal" means you have truck drivers get your product to stores and servers and cooks for all who are more than ready to eat out again. Things are moving ever so slowly, which after living in a fast-paced lifestyle this slow down seems to be on-going.

   So how do we deal with this fatigue and help our parishioners with it as well? I, for one, am open to ideas. Anybody?