No Vaction This Summer: No Big Deal
Our annual one-week get-away got away from us this year. That timeshare in a lovely little resort town required us to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. Either that or we had to sign a form saying we'd had a negative COVID test within 72 hours of revival. The former wasn't workable, of course. The latter required us to lie.
Sure, they told us they didn't monitor or check up on whether we had a test or not. We just had to sign the form. "Lot's of folks sign it. Nobody checks. Nobody cares. But the Governor insists on it."
No lying, thank you. There's enough of that to go around these days. Didn't want to add to the pile of bull-_____ that's piling up around us. (Excuse my French, but it's been exasperating to listen to the tsunami of lies that's been drowning us lately.) So we stayed home.
We didn't "Stay-Ca" either. It's been work as usual. And it's been that all summer - with an occasional daily breather here and there - something I would have done during a normal summer anyway.
Do we miss that week? Not counting that we've been going there for 20+ years, that it's our only real time to breathe really fresh air, walk the rocky coastline, saunter through perfectly clean sand without crowds, with glorious memories of years there with the kids (now grown up), we do miss it a bit.
But no big deal.
Owners of small businesses usually can't afford much time "away" anyway. I got used to that after starting up the business. Of course, with everything digital, we could trudge 200 + miles from the work home base without any worry of missing a beat. Maybe not a true "get away," but if you're organized and plan ahead, it works. Just not this year.
Then again, I like what I do. My work benefits others. In fact, that's part of the prayer I pray every morning, for the intercession of the patron saints of my business: "Saint Ignatius of Loyola, St. Joan of Arc, by your intercession may I work this day for the greater glory of God, the welfare of my family, the benefit of my clients, and the common good."
Prayer helps - a lot - when you face any sort of difficulty or glitch at work (and any other time and place, of course). So when a little twinge of wistfulness spritzed my brain when I began this week's work, I wanted to make sure it didn't stop me from getting a good start first thing Monday morning. Here's what I jotted down during my morning prayers:
Why shouldn’t every day get off to a good start - if we begin with God and stay with Him? That’s #1. All the projects, tasks, etc. come after that. They make no sense without God being at the center of it all.
The angels and saints help us here too. Angels surround us on every front, beginning with Guardian Angels - our own and those of everyone around us. Then there are the angels “in charge” of every part of Creation. (Is “in charge” the right phrase? They’re somehow assigned and preside. maybe that’s more like it?) The saints, well, the Church Triumphant prays for us, sing our praises to God for us, if we ask them. They lift us up for the asking.
Begin the day: Good morning St. Joseph, St. Stephen, St. Peter Damian, St. Agnes, St. Lucy. And, of course, Good morning Mom and Dad, and our dearest Steve, who are now, we believe, saints.
Look at that! How broad and deep! How rich! This Vale of Tears comes alive with joy and hope when the soul awakes and seeks the supernatural in the midst of the natural. Seeking the supernatural means getting in touch with Reality, the Real rather than the Shadows.
Maybe all that leads to cheerfulness. If we simply get caught up in the world, the flesh, and the devil, what’s to be cheerful about? But if we raise our gaze towards God, through Our Lady, the angels, and the saints, what’s not to be cheerful about?
I really did write that out. And it really did help get me focused on my work despite the wistfulness that came with missing out on our lovely vacation.
No big deal.
Sure, they told us they didn't monitor or check up on whether we had a test or not. We just had to sign the form. "Lot's of folks sign it. Nobody checks. Nobody cares. But the Governor insists on it."
No lying, thank you. There's enough of that to go around these days. Didn't want to add to the pile of bull-_____ that's piling up around us. (Excuse my French, but it's been exasperating to listen to the tsunami of lies that's been drowning us lately.) So we stayed home.
We didn't "Stay-Ca" either. It's been work as usual. And it's been that all summer - with an occasional daily breather here and there - something I would have done during a normal summer anyway.
Do we miss that week? Not counting that we've been going there for 20+ years, that it's our only real time to breathe really fresh air, walk the rocky coastline, saunter through perfectly clean sand without crowds, with glorious memories of years there with the kids (now grown up), we do miss it a bit.
But no big deal.
Owners of small businesses usually can't afford much time "away" anyway. I got used to that after starting up the business. Of course, with everything digital, we could trudge 200 + miles from the work home base without any worry of missing a beat. Maybe not a true "get away," but if you're organized and plan ahead, it works. Just not this year.
Then again, I like what I do. My work benefits others. In fact, that's part of the prayer I pray every morning, for the intercession of the patron saints of my business: "Saint Ignatius of Loyola, St. Joan of Arc, by your intercession may I work this day for the greater glory of God, the welfare of my family, the benefit of my clients, and the common good."
Prayer helps - a lot - when you face any sort of difficulty or glitch at work (and any other time and place, of course). So when a little twinge of wistfulness spritzed my brain when I began this week's work, I wanted to make sure it didn't stop me from getting a good start first thing Monday morning. Here's what I jotted down during my morning prayers:
Why shouldn’t every day get off to a good start - if we begin with God and stay with Him? That’s #1. All the projects, tasks, etc. come after that. They make no sense without God being at the center of it all.
The angels and saints help us here too. Angels surround us on every front, beginning with Guardian Angels - our own and those of everyone around us. Then there are the angels “in charge” of every part of Creation. (Is “in charge” the right phrase? They’re somehow assigned and preside. maybe that’s more like it?) The saints, well, the Church Triumphant prays for us, sing our praises to God for us, if we ask them. They lift us up for the asking.
Begin the day: Good morning St. Joseph, St. Stephen, St. Peter Damian, St. Agnes, St. Lucy. And, of course, Good morning Mom and Dad, and our dearest Steve, who are now, we believe, saints.
Mother Seton, Mother Cabrini, North American martyrs, St. Patrick, St. Peter, pray for us (our parish Saints). St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Joan of Arc, patrons of my business, by your intercession may I work this day for the greater glory of God, the welfare of my family, the benefit of my clients and customers, and the common good.
Look at that! How broad and deep! How rich! This Vale of Tears comes alive with joy and hope when the soul awakes and seeks the supernatural in the midst of the natural. Seeking the supernatural means getting in touch with Reality, the Real rather than the Shadows.
Maybe all that leads to cheerfulness. If we simply get caught up in the world, the flesh, and the devil, what’s to be cheerful about? But if we raise our gaze towards God, through Our Lady, the angels, and the saints, what’s not to be cheerful about?
I really did write that out. And it really did help get me focused on my work despite the wistfulness that came with missing out on our lovely vacation.
No big deal.
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