“A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.”
J.R.R. Tolkien
(pretties found during the lockdown / Julie Cook/ 2020
Today’s other title choices…wait for it…WHEN WILL THIS BE OVER?!
And then there was the alternative, Crisis within a Crisis…
I don’t know, maybe you are like me and prefer not to admit it…
You should know, there was this subconscious thought, deep down somewhere in my being,
a subconscious thought that pondered that once Easter got here, and what with a couple of weeks
of this lockdown business under our belts, this madness would joyfully all be over.
But the somber and sober reality was that once Easter actually arrived here in the South,
we were met with a deadly and storm ridden day.
Grey, windy, humid and eerie.
Eerie for all sorts of reasons.
We were under a tornado watch throughout both day and night with the storms
making their presence known here in Georgia around at 2AM
They had already left their deadly mark in Lousiana and Mississippi.
There were tornados in the neighboring counties and states all around us, but
we were thankfully spared the brunt of mother nature’s deadly fury.
Lives were lost, homes and properties destroyed.
I was reminded of the Easter Sunday years ago when a storm rolled through a tiny town
in neighboring Alabama, making a direct hit on a rural Methodist Chruch.
The pastor, a wife, and mother, was killed and the church destroyed.
Mother Nature does not discriminate.
Nor do crises or viruses.
Just before all this madness ramped up, I had to have a molar’s crown replaced.
I was fitted with a temporary and was to come back in two week’s time for the
permanent crown to be put in place.
Well the pandemic reared its ugly head and my appointment was canceled as all businesses were
shuttered.
No worries, I thought, this temporary molar is great.
That was until yesterday morning, Easter morning when the Mayor offered me one of
her jellybeans–out popped the tooth.
Well, knowing it was, A. Sunday and B. Pandemic, I knew I was a ship load out of luck.
So what does a former girl scout/educator do in a small crisis?
She finds the super glue to poke the tooth back in.
The only problem was that it was in the back, in between two other teeth, I was having
a hard time seeing in the mirror, holding the flashlight while trying to figure out what
was the correct line-up for the tooth.
Have you ever gotten super glue on your tongue?
Take it from me, DON’T!!!
Then do not use fingernail polish remover to get rid of super glue on your tongue.
I got the tooth back in but not lined up for the bite.
So now, it hurts and doesn’t align when my teeth touch and I can’t “pop” it back out
because it’s glued in like nobody’s business.
I called the dentist Monday morning and the recording told me all I needed to know…
PANDEMIC. CLOSED!
But I did, however, leave a message.
And a gal did call back.
I explained what happened but she said that for now, they needed to remain closed
but if it popped back out, do not use superglue…well duh…
and to call back as they’d see if they could get me in.
I hung up wondering why I couldn’t get in now but I suppose we’ll wait until
infection sets in and my head begins to throb.
Oh, and did I mention Percy?
Last week, I had let the Mayor and Sheriff’s big black lab out onto the deck for water.
I went to fill up the water bowl when I saw a good bit of bright red blood on the bowl.
I asked my daughter-in-law to check the dog’s mouth to make certain she had
not lost a tooth.
Nope—all was well.
And that’s when I saw it.
Percy looked up at me and his entire mouth was swollen with his bottom jaw almost
swollen beyond recognition.
I immediately called the vet asking how they were seeing emergency cases.
Of course, they know Percy most intimately.
They told me to bring him to the parking lot and call once I got there.
They would send out a masked and gloved tech to get the carrier while I
waited in the car.
Several of the techs who had endured those agonizing months with me as
Percy was a daily patient dealing with his bone infection, all came to the door
to wave.
I think that’s what I miss most throughout this madness—our daily
mundane, yet comforting, interactions.
After about 30 minutes, the vet came out and told me Percy had bitten into his bottom lip.
Remember, Percy has some very messed up teeth, those of which have not been pulled or
lost to his abuse as a kitten, before coming to us.
Two shots, antibiotics, steroids, and a million dollars later, we were headed back home.
They even brought me back my bank card back out wrapped in Lysol wipes.
Only Percy would have a crisis during a global pandemic!
And so I went back to the grocery store today.
Again, the emotionless masked shoppers were out in droves.
The chicken and meats were back up to speed but limited to two packs per person.
All the chicken broth was out as was all flour and sugar.
The aisles were now marked with an arrow or an x—directional markers as to how to travel.
I had to weave up and down.
If I forgot something, there was no backing up or u-turning.
Cheese was only two per person as was most everything else.
There were actually 5 packs of toilet paper on the shelves.
Yet no Lysol or disinfectant wipes to be found.
Eggs were also a bit sparse.
But of course, it had just been Easter.
In the background there was some late 90’s song playing on the intercom
that pricked at my senses.
I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
I had a moment of sheer visceral sadness.
Normal.
I just wanted normal.
Not some kind of science fiction, brave new world NEW normal.
I just wanted plain ol normal.
Afraid that the enormity of all of this twilight zone life was just about to
push me over the edge…I blessedly saw them.
Eggs.
And not just any eggs…it was a package of a lovely multi-colored palette
of perfectly shaped beautiful ovals
And just like that, I was jolted back to the bigger picture…
that of new life and new birth.
Something so much greater than this current madness.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
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