Normal Is Not An Option

I was scrolling through old posts and realized that I've been doing this blog off and on for over 14 years. It does not seem that long, but so much of my life has changed since I first started. Back in 2006, my nephew and niece hadn't been born, my dad was still alive, and I hadn't been laid off twice in one year. I've also joined an Episcopal church and started singing in the choir since then, something that I never dreamed was even possible when I was growing up in the church of Christ.  It has been over 20 years since I finally hit my breaking point and realized I needed to leave that church. The process was full of twists and turns and missteps, but I have absolutely no regrets except that I wish I had left sooner, but I probably wasn't ready before then. The important thing is that I finally got out. If I had stayed, I would have been miserable. There simply is no place in that church for a smart opinionated woman who asks difficult questions. I sometimes wonde...

In the year since I last posted, my life has entirely changed. I started a new job, my father and step-mother died, I moved, and just as I was getting settled in the new place and thinking about having a housewarming party, the COVID-19 pandemic started. As much as I miss my dad, I keep thinking that I'm glad he's not around for this mess. Not only did he and his wife have several underlying conditions that would have made them prime targets of the virus, they both were hardcore Church of Christ members who believed that they had to attend each and every church service no matter what. I would have been living in terror every week, worried that they were going to that church and bringing home a deadly infection. Honestly, I think you would have had to post a member of the National Guard in front of my dad's door to keep him from going to church. They were my last link to the congregation they attended, so I have no idea whether that church is continuing to meet in defian...