Advent

On Sunday, we kicked off Advent at our Church. My first reaction was that I am tired of Advent already. We have been doing enough waiting all year. Strictly speaking, much of my waiting has been more secular than spiritual. So I will pick an example in the religious arena. Easter services were canceled. Even now I can only attend Mass with a mask and a reservation for an assigned seat in a pew three rows away from the closest occupied one. I cannot go to Church when and where I want. No one in my family will come to Mass with me. They are responsible enough not to take the additional risk despite the fairly stringent social distancing protocols. The other residents in my household watch the same service I attend on television, so I am not on some higher spiritual plane. In fact, I am on the selfish plane because whatever I catch will likely infect my wife and grandson. If I am attending Church in any form, it defeats the underlying purpose to gripe about petty inconveniences. But I hate to waste all the words I have already written because I am suddenly anxious to start reading the Advent readings and reflections provided to me every year by my Parish and my High School. So rather than starting over, I ask you to just attribute the aforementioned whining to my friend Goktug. I was going to spare him the embarrassment but I would like my official record to reflect the surprisingly fresh excitement I am feeling. Where are the Advent Candles? What about the Advent Calendar, the one where we get a chocolate mint when we open a new window. Goktug has been waiting a long time for that candy.