Sunday, June 20 was this year’s summer solstice or rather, the first day of summer. Some of us refer to this day as the longest day of the year, but what a lot of us don’t know is the summer solstice symbolizes patience, gratitude and hope. After this last year when we were all still quarantined, this year many of us will feel this sense of gratitude and hope, especially as we slowly start seeing things get back to normal. But patience might not come as naturally to us. As our communities start to open up and festivals and parades bring in the crowds, one thing we should push ourselves to remember is to have grace with each other as we step back into normal.
There are many restaurants that are still short staffed. Your wait times to get a table may be longer and your food and drink orders may not be served to you as quickly as you’d like. Know your servers are doing the best they can. Perhaps you can take that extra wait time to reflect on how fortunate you are to be able to eat in a restaurant again.
Most of us are eager to get back to our social gatherings, and attending parades, festivals and live music. In fact, one of the hardest parts last year was not being able to go and watch some favorite local bands while enjoying a cold IPA. But keep in mind there are members of our community who still need to be what some might call “overly cautious.” Those who have a lower immunity due to other illnesses or diseases, elderly and even the younger kids who are not able to get vaccinated yet, still may be attending events with caution and with masks. Try to keep in mind wearing that mask might be the only way they are able to be out in public.
Days will begin to get shorter but now is time for our patience to be boundless. Tip your servers well, even if it took an extra 15 minutes to get your meal. Enjoy being out and about with your community, even if it means you might still need to talk to someone from behind their mask. After all, you never know whose life they might be trying to protect.
Gratitude and hope will come to most of us easily now as we start to emerge back into our everyday lives, but patience can be difficult when we just want things back to normal. Let’s not forget where we were last year, and how far we have come.
