Day 83 — Sunday, June 7, 2020 or today was actually a normal Sunday!

Yes, it was! Today was the first normal Sunday that I have had since, let me see…Sunday, March 15! How many months ago was that?? It was a least 83 days ago…

So why was it so normal for me? I went to both a live yoga class and to church, two things that I tried to do most Sundays when we were back in “normal” times.

Massachusetts allowed houses of worship to open back up for services on Monday, May 18. The church I go to had their first weekend mass on Saturday, May 30. I went for the first time on that Sunday and boy, was that church empty. I went to my normal 5 p.m. mass and I think there might have been 22 people in the church. We had to wear face masks and only every other pew was open. There was no singing (which I am actually OK with) and no bringing up the gifts, no collection at all. The whole mass lasted about 30 minutes (again, I am not opposed to this) and they did the Eucharist after the mass was over — we all processed up the side aisle with 6 feet between each person, received the Eucharist and then exited the church through the side door. It was a different experience.

And also please tell me, if you are wearing a face covering or mask — why do you take your nose out of the covering?? That totally defeats the purpose, folks! OK, that’s just today’s PSA…

Today I went back to mass, but I went to the 11:30 a.m. service because the yoga studio that I’ve been going to for the past 7 years (where did the time go??) was having an actual outdoor live practice at 4 p.m. They’ve had virtual classes for the past few months, but this was the first live in-person class since mid March. The class was in a field a few blocks down from the studio — they marked out squares 9 feet apart so you didn’t have to wear your mask during the actual class. The sun was out, it was a beautiful day and it was just so amazing to be in a yoga class again after all these weeks. I’ve done a ton of yoga at home, but there is just something about practicing physically with other people — its like the folks around you just push you forward and you find yourself getting so much more out of each pose. I don’t even know how to really explain it.

I came home this evening feeling so much more at peace with myself and so satisfied — it was a good, hard workout and one that I wouldn’t have achieved at home. And I did feel like it was a normal summer Sunday. And I needed that. Hopefully I will be able to do it all over again next Sunday!