Quiet

Garrison Keillor always began his weekly monologue on the Prairie Home Companion with, “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon.” If he were writing this week, I think he’d need a new opening line. Nothing about this week has been quiet. But parts of it have been quite satisfying.

My favorite yoga studio re-opened. It was incredibly satisfying to be on a mat alongside people I’ve missed seeing, engaged in an activity I’ve missed doing. Honestly, I don’t even mind that the reduced class size means you have to sign up 37 days in advance. I’m excited to grab any piece of normal that I can.

Then, my daughter- a recent college grad who has been ‘stuck’ living at home and job hunting during Covid-got a job! After months of intensive LinkedIn scouring and more Zoom interviews than you could count, she was offered a dream position with a dream company in her dream location: New York. She’ll be working remotely at first, but has already started looking for apartments and roommates. ‘Satisfying’ doesn’t begin to describe my pride at watching this lovely young woman launch herself into the world.

Then came the election that wouldn’t end. At the bitter end of a presidential campaign that itself seemed to last for years, Election Day turned into Election Days and threatened to turn into Election Week; poll workers counted, and counted, and counted some more. Meanwhile, pundits dissected the data, politicians made speeches, and the rest of us watched, wondering how much longer this could possibly go on. When the AP finally called the race, you could almost hear a collective sigh of relief. Because regardless of individual opinions and political leanings, many people were simply exhausted by the process.

This week was certainly exciting. Hopefully, the coming week will actually be quiet.