GIFTS, BOOKS & CURIOSITIES
ALSPAUGH continued from 17
fun idea for a project. Without trying, we’ ve learned the beauty of devoting each day to a few important things, rather than trying to fit in too many things.
In the first few weeks home, I remember keeping a mental list of the things I couldn’ t wait to do and the places I couldn’ t wait to go once life was back to normal. But now that we’ ve been stripped down to the basics, it’ s easier to see what’ s important. I never would’ ve expected that now, sometimes I can hear my heart whisper appreciation for all the unnecessary distractions that have left my life.
I still really miss our friends and family. I can’ t wait for our church and library to reopen. Eating a meal that I didn’ t cook will be nice someday, and playing in a park loud with children will be glorious. But most of all, what I never expected to look forward to is a new normal that feels a whole lot more like now, than then.
I hope that when I kiss my boys goodbye before work and school again someday, my eyes remain fixed on the very few things in life that truly make our hearts soar: God, each other, and the earth beneath our feet. And for that, I’ ll forever lift up an unexpected,
“ Thank you, COVID-19.” •
20 Our Brown County • May / June 2020