With Great Expectations 9/6/2020

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

I have always felt like fall was the start of something.  I suppose, in the most realistically basic sense, it is the start of kids returning to school so that’s something.  The lazy days of summer for child, parent and teacher alike are morphing into something that is a more hectic, possibly even chaotic form of productivity.  I don’t think that’s exactly what it is though that gives me some faint sense of expectation this time of year.  There is something deep down this year especially that I think I can safely call an anticipation. This year, there is something within me that I can only describe as a fire in my belly, a hopeful yearning for things that are to come.

 This year, I think we all know that the term unprecedented has been thrown around more than it has been than quite possibly in recorded time.  I have heard many a person say that they are more than ready for times to be “precedented”.  I can definitely agree with this.  But I am starting to feel like perhaps all the pressure and tension of these times are leading to something.  We have a pandemic.  Illness is constantly in the back of our minds and, possibly more detrimentally, the plague of fear takes its toll on the infected and the uninfected alike.  We were not meant to be a people of fear. Anxiety and dread take a terrible toll on us though I find myself inclined to believe that the shadows shall brighten.  Even though sickness will not disappear, perhaps we as a people can take this time to really consider our fellow man. Maybe we can stop being the lovers of ourselves that we famously are and we can look out for one another and actually go about the business of treating others how we want to be treated. It could be as simple as sending a note to someone who has decided out and about is not in their best interest.  It could even be the eternally appropriate, and quintessentially southern gift of food.  We all know that no matter the severity of sickness in body or soul, a lovingly baked cake can make life, at the very least, a bit sweeter.  I would like to add that even if your ailments cause your stomach to be less than thrilled about a treat of such nature, by all means, just wait, eventually your body will embrace such a thing. Or, if it comes down to it and loved ones are forced to enjoy the confection on your behalf, then you can rest assured knowing you have contributed to the joy of those you care about most.  Maybe this whole case of disease and fear that are both highly infectious are a prime opportunity for us to show how much we really care about others.

There is also the start of two wars this time of year. Both are ever-present but go through times of sitting ever so quietly in the backgrounds of our lives. They don’t sit there however to be nonchalant and fade into the scenery. They are waiting to pounce.  The two wars of which I speak are an election year and football season. Now if I had to have my choice of the two I much prefer venom that is spewed in a good-natured fashion that, while occasionally deep-seeded and sometimes disconcertingly abrasive, can for the majority of the time be set aside over shared rivals or well prepared tailgate refreshments.  Politics are…well is there anyone out there that loves the vitriol that bombards us every four years?  Give me two people who love a school and it’s athletics  going at each other rather than two people who think they have the whole nation all figured out any day.  I mean donkeys and elephants aren’t the greatest of creatures anyway.  Donkeys are loud, obnoxious and stubborn. Elephants are big, cumbersome and loud as well just differently. They are even associated with tedious fanbases. (Yes, I went there, let’s face it, you should have seen it coming.) I don’t know if the other parties have an animal representatives but I am certain they are inherently flawed as well.  It seems to me, that if we could simply understand that we will always disagree on what’s best and do so in a civil manner we’d do well for ourselves.  As staggering as it may be, if we could look at rival football fans we could see that in the end they just want a good game, to do well and to eat delicious things whilst taking it all in.  We all just want a good nation.  Sure, we want OUR team to win but overall, if it can be a good game and win or lose we can represent our loyalties how we would want everyone else to see them…perhaps, just perhaps we can learn a thing or two as votes are tallied.  I don’t know, perhaps finding common ground is a bit much to ask.  We tend to be rather comfy in our echo chambers of what we think.  Maybe if we could just step outside them for a bit, hear other sides, see we’re all humans wanting life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (minus the occasional nutjob, they’re out there, you know the ones I mean) then conceivably we could still disagree but do so…well…agreeably.  And perchance when a team loses, be it ours or the other guys’, we could just still agree to be the best embodiment of all we hold dear.  I know these are big asks. I believe they are big, but not impossible.

I guess overall these are the times that I feel will make us who we could be.  The pressure and stress put on the most average coal makes something invaluable.  Diamonds are not born of comfort.  We always want to be on the mountaintop.  That is not the way life works. The mountain top is not where you find the fertile soil of growth. It’s in the valleys where there is the toil of effort that produces maturation and gain. These days it seems like valley after valley and we haven’t seen the hilltops in forever.  But it is here that I find this intrinsic faith, a hope that we can learn from these tests.  If we do not learn what they are trying to teach we are destined to retake them.  If we could just see that all people are created in the image of their Maker and of infinite worth and should be treated as such. If we could understand that when darkness seems to be all we see and even those we thought were examples are proving less than we’d hoped, that it’s our turn to be the Light.  Put in the effort to grow in the low, dark places. Control what you can control and that is yourself. If we strive to be the example of all that is good that we are called to be, though storms may rage and nights may seem long we can know we are growing and becoming.  And when the test is passed we can see that the times have indeed become unprecedented yet again, but in the best possible way.