It's Easter weekend, which as a reformed Catholic means almost nothing to me, but it's also my parents' anniversary weekend which also means we just passed the anniversary of my sister-in-law dying from breast cancer and we're coming up on the anniversary of my dad's death, which happened two weeks after her passing. It's hard to believe it's been three years for both of them, and the whirlwind that came in the months before and after both. Everything is so different, I feel like a whole lifetime of change has come in the last few years, and yet there's also so much that feels exactly the same, as time ticks on. It's probably why I've grasped so hard to spending so much time among animals at the Zoo and SeaWorld: while some have passed, new babies are born, and animals transfer, there is so much comfort in their daily routines...the zoo itself as a living breathing organism that has to wake up every day, with animals that have to be fed every day, animals that only feel the rhythm of the day, of the year, of the change in seasons, the change in guests, adapting when it's slow days or insanely busy days, but their lives in general don't really care about all the outside noise of this crazy world. Makes sense that I feel so much peace there, a calm it can be hard to find when you watch the news or exist anywhere in this mad world.
May you all have a great weekend, see some great music, enjoy a beerfest, celebrate Easter, or Ēostre, or Pascha or just that we live in this amazing place with endless opportunities to find peace.
Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
