5.7.21

Last weekend my sister and I engaged in a ritual we have done for years, we planned a day of shopping looking for the best deals and bargains. After leaving the third store, my sister turned to me and said “remember how much fun this used to be? I am not sure I want to go back to normal.” Looking for items to fill rooms and closets already full and overflowing did not have much purpose or enjoyment. We mutually decided to return to my home. There we settled ourselves in chairs in my backyard and caught up on each other’s lives. 

 

This school year began with a focus on the Quaker testimony of simplicity. As we return to normal I wonder what we will turn away from? What aspects of our new normal of the last year will we cling to and embrace?

 

Now that we are back at school, the pace is slower. Our school’s current configuration of classes and limited movement doesn’t allow for us to be quite as rushed. We recently asked our students young and old what they love most about being in school. They told us: seeing their friends and being in nature. Surely simplicity resonates within them as well. 

 

As we prepare to return to normal may we cling to the quiet, restful spaces, and the joy of another’s company.