COVID CHRONICLES Day 9
Moving the Goalposts
Sunday, March 29
I had a wonderful chance to experience an example of what happens when community meets technology on Saturday. We belong to two Jewish congregations: Congregation Etz Chayim, which has more than 300 families, where my ex-wife and I joined when our oldest was one and a half and we were the 30th family; and Temple Beth El near our home on the coast, which has 500 families, and where one of the rabbis grew up with my wife in New Jersey! As with spiritual and other communities of all sorts, both synagogues are finding ways to serve their membership and surrounding community while “Staying at Home.”
Yesterday (Saturday) I was able to attend a monthly contemplative service at Etz Chayim via Zoom (talk about a company ready for the moment). There on my screen were as many as 40 people in Brady-bunch tile form! There were the inevitable few moments when on-the-fly adjustments needed to be made, but that’s simply part of practicing patience. Our leader led us through meditation, chanting and prayer at the same time in the same “space.” We shared readings, reflections and brief personal stories. I was able to share our situation. One woman had to leave in the middle because the mother of a close friend had just died. Real-life in real-time. The list of people whose health we were praying for, and whose memories we were naming, were both long. I felt full at the end, the way I do when I attend in person. What a gift!
On the health front, my wife continues to improve, albeit slowly. She’s sleeping a lot. But her spirits are lifting for sure. There simply is no rushing this thing. I remain status quo.
As I mentioned on Day 2, we were originally given March 31 as a potential target release date, though I expressed skepticism. Counting from the day we received the news that my wife tested positive (the day this series started), that target was more realistically this Friday, April 3. As I also mentioned, we need three days AFTER the first day my wife’s symptoms are gone before we can leave quarantine. So, to meet that revised date, she needs to be symptom-free on the original date. Every day after that moves the end date one day. So, we’re currently playing a game in which the goal is fluid, not fixed. Sometimes I want to yell “Just tell me the rules!”
That, my friends, is just not going to happen. We’re playing Calvinball. Hobbes is setting the rules. We have to accept being along for the ride.
