It is so very hard to realize that the summer is ending already. But after the past 17 months I find it is often hard to keep track of time and dates. But there are several things that are back again.
(1) School is back - I used to enjoy the return to a new school year - new students, new classes and a fresh start. But now I am really glad that I am retired. While I miss the students and my classes, I would not want to be part of the new challenges that students and teachers are facing because of covid. I would be fearful of catching it even though I have both shots.
And I can't understand why masks aren't required for students and staff. However, that has become very controversial and has caused hours of conflict in school board meetings. I understand there have even been threats of legal suits over this issue. I just don't know why you wouldn't want your children fully protected.
And as a teacher I don't know how you could do a good job not knowing if tomorrow might be in-person or virtual teaching. How would you prepare? That has to be a real stress point.
(2) Football is back - Football is my favorite sport and it appears that at all levels they are attempting to have full seasons once again. But covid still presents a real threat. Already a few high school games have been rescheduled or canceled because of this virus. It could end up being a very strange season of football if covid continues to spread.
And again, I don't understand why many teams - especially college and pro - don't require all of their players to have the shots. Why would you risk spreading it to your teammates and maybe having to forfeit your games? But that is happening and might get worse.
(3) Cicada Killers are back - Every year these scary killers return to our yard and wreck our lawn. Now we have not seen or heard many cicadas or cicada killers. But a tour of our back yard shows dozens of holes and piles of dirt that have been dug to deposit the paralyzed cicadas. They are destructive. It is an amazing part of God's creation but it sure makes a mess of our lawn. We don't know why they've chosen our yard and there doesn't appear to be a way to fight them or prevent them. But it is a sign that Fall is on the way.
(4) Traffic is back - Millersville can be a very nice town - when the college is closed. During the past year it has been nice. There has been little noise and especially no traffic. But we were spoiled - the students are back. The biggest change for us is the amount of traffic. You learn to leave home a little earlier if you have an appointment and you expect to wait longer if you must access or cross the main street. And, of course, the students drive much faster than the 25 mph speed limit. Hopefully the midterm and semester breaks will also arrive faster.
(5) Sadly the pages of obituaries are back. Now I don't read the obituaries to see if I am there. But I do read them to see how many of the deceased I know. During the height of the pandemic the papers were loaded with obituaries - sometimes 100 a day. And, unfortunately, they included many friends, former students, former coworkers, members of our church, and parents of former students. Almost every day there was somebody listed that I knew.
At times this was very discouraging since most of the time I didn't know their spiritual condition so I didn't know where they had gone. Had they accepted the Gospel? Did I miss an opportunity to share the Lord with them? That thought often challenged me.
Then the covid spread declined and the number of obituaries did as well. That was a relief. But it was temporary. Now the long lists are back as covid continues to spread. And that is discouraging.
But soon the Fall will be back with the cooler weather, the changing leaves and everything that makes it my favorite season. But I dare not think of what follows - collecting our leaves and then ice and snow. So we just try to enjoy what the Lord allows.
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