Other Work Distractions

Last time it was work distractions from our ongoing C-Virus Mess. Today's it's distractions that come and go with or without COVID. We begin with what's lately been distracting working in our business.

The last week and first week of a Quarter bring crunch-time to our business. That's pretty much a 2-week spread. The pattern repeats four times a year. It's nothing new. But this past end/beginning quarter it started during Holy Week and continued through The Octave week of Easter. Not good timing.

Over the years, we've posted various suggested ways to better observe Holy Week even as we work through it. These suggestions are intended to help us remain recollected even during busy work days. We want to accompany Our Lord as He journeys to Calvary. Most years, we can do this, at least in some degree. This year, being the last week of the quarter, it was particularly tough.

Holy Week should by no means be a "distraction" from our work. If anything, we try not to ignore it as we bear down during the work day. So even with the extra pressure of end of quarter crunch, there was still time to "be present" with Holy Week. But now add in distraction that came from domestic considerations. In a normal work week, we take domestic chores and projects in stride. Normally last week of the quarter tends to push domestic matters off to the side to make room for our spiritual efforts. Except that this year, the work crunch simply could not claim its usual "primary focus" to the exclusion of domestic matters. Unless, of course, we were going to push Holy Week off to the side - not an option.

First domestic matter was "Reconciliation Monday." It's something our diocese offers during Holy Week each year. Normally it's not for us, since we get to Confession regularly - or at least used to before the Mess first eliminated, then curtailed access to the Sacraments. As a result, this year Monday of Holy Week - the beginning of the end-of-quarter crunch - found me trying to schedule time for my wife and I to drive to our parish church to get to Confession - something we haven't been able to do for over a year. 

The rest of the week included trips to pick up special items for a planned Easter dinner. Again, in a normal Holy Week, just part of the regular routine. This year, with that intensified work crunch, there was a need to dedicate time and attention to those pick-ups - time we really didn't have. And, for some reason, this year marked the first time I can remember suffering symptoms of allergies. When you're not used to this, it can be pretty distracting, especially with the prospect of COVID hovering around any symptoms of any kind. It took a while until I realized that it was likely allergies. (How do people manage when they not only get symptoms when pollen is high, but also get even more intense symptoms than I had?)

Through it all, the daily task list kept spitting out its special mix of last-week-of-the-quarter items - one after the other after the other.

Things went OK, although I typically try to spend time with the readings for Mass in the Traditional Rite during Holy Week. These include the Passion according to St. Mark on Tuesday and The Passion according to St. Luke on Wednesday. (Yes, the Traditional Latin Rite has us read the Passion during the week. I even remember doing this a kid in grammar school, attending Mass during Holy Week, my Daily Missal in hand, following along as the priest read the Gospel in Latin.) Unfortunately, things were crunchy enough that I had to forego that treasured habit. Something had to give.

Jump forward now to the Octave of Easter: Each day is a solemnity and the plan was to take off Easter Monday (not a holiday in the U.S. but one in many other parts of what were once Catholic/Christian countries). After that, the idea is typically to ease up during that week. Well, the crunch pretty much took all that away (although I did manage to knock off early - around 3:30 - on Easter Monday. And the idea that the crunch "ate into" my typical observations of a kind of Easter holiday did serve to distract me as I plowed through 1st week of the quarter tasks that came at me one after another after another.

At a certain point, though, you have to see all of this as part of God's Plan. Fortunately, end of/beginning of quarter doesn't land during Holy Week/Easter Week every year. With all the distraction that came this year, you get a chance not to acknowledge God's Plan, but also to simply trust that you will receive any grace you need fulfill all your duties, while keeping your spiritual life alive and kicking. You get the chance to deal with an extraordinary challenge and flex those discipline muscles. And you have an opportunity to suck up any frustration or annoyance of having to have a less than perfect Holy Week or Easter Week and simply offer it up.

You don't look for distractions so you can reap these benefits. But when distractions like this come as they just did, you can be grateful for the chance to handle things in a mature way, with little or no complaint - or as St. Benedict might urge: no murmuring!

Oh, and lest we forget we're in the Easter Season...

Happy Easter!