Dear Reader:

These days…everything seems different. Sometimes it is so subtle I almost overlook the clues that I am in a different place  than I was years ago…and especially these days…where I was just months or weeks ago.

Back when…I felt a sense of comforting certainty about the future and my place in it…whereas today the mirror is cloudy and the future ambiguous at best.

I thought I was the only one starting to sense that “normalcy” as I once experienced it seems like an elusive ghost of the past that I vaguely remember as a ‘constant’ in my life.

However I have been reassured by my neighbors and friends that they too feel somewhat more unsettled lately than earlier…after all we have been through with the pandemic…a new aura of uncertainty prevails as more time passes with no closure in the foreseeable future. There are still more questions than answers floating around us about this enigma called COVID19.

Until six months ago…I had my daily rituals in retirement life, was settling into the contentment of “free” time….no more early morning alarms, deadlines, mobility mornings requiring the “troops” (my children) to move out each day for school.

The family had moved past ‘growing up’ in all its stages of life…including public school, college, and post-graduate studies. The new agenda for my adult children were spouses, families, and careers now…as they continued creating, changing, and adapting their on-going lives for a future together.

I was experiencing that long-awaited and highly anticipated title of “grandmother” (Boo Boo) with the special bonding that comes with it…because of that amazing generational gap gift that reunites adults and children….with no power struggles and rebellions as challenged with first-generational parents. In other words…I could spoil my grandchildren and did and do. 🙂

Even with the anticipation of my beloved Clemson Tiger playing last evening…and watching snatches of different teams play throughout the day…something still felt “off.” Football was back…but I wasn’t feeling that same “normalcy” I usually feel on game day…especially the first game of the season. I started wondering…is it the game or is it me?

A part of me  worries about the athletes returning to football, the students returning to schools and colleges…that darn invisible virus plays as much havoc mentally as physically… on and off the gridiron.

But speaking of….a big shout-out to Colby Goodwin, Jo’s granddaughter who left yesterday for Clemson…after a few weeks delay bringing the freshmen students on campus.

Since Clemson was playing their opening game on the road in Winston-Salem against Wake Forest last evening…yesterday was the perfect day to allow students back on campus…especially the patiently (and impatiently 🙂 waiting excited freshmen!

I hope everyone got there fine and didn’t get lost…there are many signs to help one find the ‘home of the Tigers.’ 🙂 Much love and support coming your way, Colby, from all of us back home rooting for you! Go get’em little Tiger!

Worries and concerns aside, however, there is one piece of advice that can help us continue ‘dog paddling’ through these uncertain waters…on days when there is more stuff than substance threatening to take us under…

” The days are long but the years are short…are just code for “Be Still and know that I am God”… because knowing God means being OK with being unsure of what the next step is because we know He is there in the uncertainty.”  (Gloryanna Boge)

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

I discovered this old vintage 1959 poster between the Wake Forest Deacons and the Clemson Tigers…this rivalry goes back a long time.

The Time: 7:30 Saturday Evening: Game Time…All my Clemson candles lit, photos and good luck paraphernalia are in place….”LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!” GO TIGERS!

P.S. By the end of the game (not only were the Tigers in their ‘groove’) but I was in mine. I am slowly starting to feel like myself again on game day….thank goodness for sports offering a much-need escape from too many continuous over-doses of reality! 🙂 Go Tigers! 🙂