April weather, like always, has been filled with extremes. One day it is almost 80 degrees and the next it is 25 with a twenty mile-an-hour wind and snow. Walking through the fog, I was thinking about all the ways we are living in a muddle right now and how it feels like we’ll be stuck in it forever.

But then I read about the gracious, loving, and creative things people are doing to stay connected, to reach out, to be a light in the dark places. One woman wrote about how her neighbors are leaving gifts in each other’s mailboxes, like homemade cookies or breads. A friend of mine’s little brother was in a terrible wreck and the day he got to come home from the hospital, the community arranged a drive by parade to welcome him home.

There are still those who don’t take this pandemic seriously, and they put others at risk. I can’t do anything about that, but I can call my neighbor and check in. I can text my children dumb jokes. I can send care packages to siblings and to others I hold dear. My light may need some new batteries, but it is better than being in the dark.

The fog will clear and we will again find ourselves under blue skies, and at tables across from each other sharing coffee and conversation, and breaking bread together.