A Weird Day

That’s right – today was a weird day. First of all, the temperature from several days ago until today went up 60 degrees (Fahrenheit). In a short period of time we went from winter-like temperatures to summer-like temperatures.

But that wasn’t the only thing that was weird about today. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am a hospice chaplain but I am working from home because of COVID-19. So, today, I went to my cubicle at work and packed everything up to work at home, because we will be working remotely for an indefinite period of time. It was weird to be there with so few people and with other people’s desk empty, like mine soon became. For an extroverted person like me, working from home and away from my team has been hard. And finding out I may working this way indefinitely has put me into full “grief mode.” I have been angry, and I have been sad. I haven’t bargained with anybody….except, of course, in my head. I’m flirting with acceptance, and I hope to get there some day.

Of course, I did this little project in typical Ann style. I drove to my work parking lot and, having decided to back in as close to the main door as possible, I proceeded to do just that. I thought I had done a pretty fine job of backing up, but when I got out of the car, I realized that I had backed up so far that the trunk of my car was hovering over most of the sidewalk. Normally, I would have gotten back in my car and moved it forward a bit. But there was hardly anyone around and in the office, so I decided to just leave it as it was and go in and get this over with.

I managed to find a cart on which to move my belongings, but, of course, it had a stubborn wheel and would only turn in one direction. I had to plan carefully to get in and out of the elevator and around corners and through doors. I don’t think I did any permanent damage to the building, but it was questionable for a while if I would manage this!

I worked away at my desk and cubicle, taking down all the things from the cubicle walls, inside my desk, my books and my personal possessions from my shelves and the top of my desk. My colleague had already cleared out her desk the day before, so I worked quickly – it was weird to be in my cubicle with this ghost-town kind of feeling and my colleague and all of her belongings already gone. I began another “discussion” with the cart and only banged into a few door frames and only partially tore one corner of one box. It seemed like there were a hundred doors between my desk, and my car – when it reality there were only five (including the elevator door).

I got to my car hovering over the sidewalk and walked to the back to open the trunk. There in the rocky landscaping between my car on the sidewalk and the building was this one lone purple flower in the picture above. That was when it got really weird. Seeing that lone purple flower did something to my insides. It was like the sun came out shining brightly, boldly and warmly, and I was filled with an emotion that can only be described as HOPE! It felt like how I always imagined the Grinch felt when his heart grew three sizes.

This lone little purple flower made me stop in my tracks. I looked around and there truly was not one other single flower in the rock landscaping on that side of the building. There was just something about its bravery to stand there all alone and proclaim the hope of spring and summer.

Yes, today was a weird day….it was the day when one lone purple flower filled me with the hope that one day this pandemic will end, and we will come out on the other side to a new and different normal!