She's Back with Coffee and Contemplation in These Covid-19 Days

She's back! With a steaming latte, sun streaming through the balcony, and her lounge pants as the work uniform of the day.

I Never went away.

Just enrolled in seminary and engaged in three years of intensive study, writing, contemplating, and trying to put spiritual meat on my social justice bones.

I'm a womanist, always have been, and while an introvert, wondered what my good in the world could entail. One of the reasons I went to seminary was a credential I needed for some of the spaces I wanted to enter. My daughters were getting older and as I saw their Post-2016 world unfolding under someone who clearly was unfit to lead, I wondered about centering spirituality, study, and sisterhood.

Now, here I am, back, in these Covid-19 times. My state is rapidly increasing with cases.

What in the world happened between watching my high school Class of 2020 daughter contemplate college choices, go on an orchestra competition trip in early March, to come back to the world literally shutting down?

Things have been moving at the speed of light and like many, I watched what was happening in China, Italy, and wondered what our CDC and administration was doing about it.

It seemed that they knew back in November. We could have been safe-at-home during winter break. I could have skipped the faith and social justice conference in Las Vegas in February when we were in the heat of the Democratic primary season. I would have certainly checked our toilet paper inventory before there was a mad rush to the stores two weeks ago. (sidebar, who doesn't keep cleaning products, toilet paper, and soap in their house on the regular?, anyway...)

It has been a whirlwind of rapidly postponing events since March 13th when my daughters returned to a spring break that wouldn't be. College admitted student days were canceled and are moving to virtual. There went prom, her debutante, and for some, graduation. Colleges closed. The wise churches and places of worship closed. Everyone started to discover they could actually work remotely and Zoom was a thing.

While no one for sure is certain they don't have the virus, we have taken every precaution, including staying in as much as we could (we had a family emergency that required a trip before the hospitals shut down last week). We have made the best of it as we could. The girls spring break extended three more days (snow days) until the teachers figured out how to do online school for 5000 kids in our school district. Life will forever be altered.

I live in the St. Louis County area. The first reported case was around the 3rd or 4th. A wealthy twenty-year-old girl returned from Italy to Chicago, took the train from O'Hare to St. Louis and became ill. She was tested at the hospital near me and was told to self-quarantine. Her dad disobeyed that order and took his younger daughter to a swanky Daddy-Daughter Dance on the 7th. They lawyered up. They live in one of the Uber-wealthy suburbs.

There are rapidly increasing cases. A young thirty-one year old died last week. She was the first. She didn't have underlying health problems.

This thing is moving so fast and exposing all the flaws of the America in a way that will either shatter us forever or motivate us to renew refreshed for everyone's sake. We are truly our brother's and sister's keeper in these Covid-19 Days.

So, what do we do?

If you are like me, you make sure there is plenty of coffee and milk/creamer alternatives in case you can't get out. You survey your home for a place of respite. You look at all the unread books on your shelf. You adjust to pajamas as work uniform. You spend time with family. You connect with family and friends via technology. and most of all, you stay in.

With latte in hand.

Waiting for the day of sunshine.

Hannah's Song

We came together last night and sang Hannah's song. Family from California was in town, it was the night before Aunt Hannah's Home Going Celebration. We met at my house late in the evening to fellowship, remember, hug, eat, and laugh. Thom felt the love in the room and I'm sure his mom would've appreciated us doing what she did all her life - love. Aunt Hannah was a gracious woman. Her gentle spirit, sparkling eyes, and constant smile will be remembered. She has left us physically, but never spiritually. The laughter was like music in Thom's ear. For the first time in weeks I saw my cousin relax. He has been in a tornado for the past four weeks from his mother's diagnosis to her death. Even in her final stage, Aunt Hannah was granted her desire. She asked to not suffer long when it was her time to go, she had been a caregiver her whole life and I'm sure her prayer was for her son. In the last days of her life, she still greeted well wishers with a wa...

Brothers, Can we Talk?

I'm a Black woman, born of a Black woman and a Black man. When my mother died, it was my father who nurtured me and instilled in me a sense of pride of self, of my race, of my abilities to do whatever I put my mind to do. He never imposed limitations on me as a Black woman. The only caution he ever gave me was to not burn my candle at both ends and to be mindful of my health, I am an asthmatic. He never stopped me from trying anything and always encouraged me. Daddy was a strong Black man who introduced me to Shirley Chisholm when I was a little girl. He reminded me of the fortitude of my late mother's quest for gender equality in the workplace and of the namesake who marched at Selma. He is the one who gave me my pseudonym, Tayé. Daddy was a strong tower of empowerment and fought all the way to his last breath for social, gender, and racial justice. It is in remembering my father this morning that I'm asking the brothers, can we talk? What is it, especially those of my g...

Ashes to Ashes

This is Ash Wednesday. For a lot of Catholics and Anglican Christians, it begins the holy season of Lent. We remember we are but dust and to dust we return, ashes to ashes. It is a somber reminder of our humanity and the finality of life. We are a mere breath. Today, as a Hospital Chaplain Resident, I am imposing ashes on patients, family, and staff. It is a visible marker of a shared faith and belief. We look with anticipation to the finished work of salvation on the cross and in eager hope of the resurrection. As my day progressed, I noticed how much hope was in the eyes of the ones giving and receiving this reminder of our existence. It was both a somber moment and a joyful moment. Two things can exist at the same time. Like the world we find ourselves in. Even as it seems like the darkest, certainly the darkest I’ve known in my six decades on this earth. Completely imperfect as a nation, there was still a glimmer of light until the nightmare became reality. We wonder abo...

The Musings of a Latte Queen: Narratives of Everyday Life

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