According to the calendar, the music in the air, and the dazzling displays of Christmas/Holiday trees and lights, time is telling us, “Tis the season”. And though current circumstances speak to the contrary, as we are enduring an airborne pestilence that has rendered us Zoomed out, Webex weary, emotionally compromised, psychologically drained, and spiritually fatigued, I am thinking that there is a no better time than now to explore the Seasons of Celebration.

We balance the reality that we are in charge of how we define those seasons while being keenly aware that if the words pandemic, Covid-19, social distancing, face masks, and quarantine could be removed from our vocabularies, stricken from Merriam-Webster, and the annals of time, we would be a joyful people, Fa la la la la la la la la. Yet time is marching on and the world is what it is, and so to help us maintain our sanity, our faith, and our desire to get up tomorrow morning, let us consider or at least imagine…

Tis the season. We don’t wait for them, we make them. Without consensus, approval, or permission from anyone, but us. So, whether we are in the midst of a pandemic or in the throes of holiday festivities. Whether we are gleaming with the sweat of hot fun in the summertime or hibernating against the frigid temperatures of winter. Whether we are awakening to the radiance of a beautiful sunrise or sitting under the cloudy skies of a roaring thunderstorm. Whether we are a 17 or 71, teen, tween, seasoned or newly walking into our womanhood grown self. Whether we are an only child, a twin, triplet or born into a tribe. Whether we are single, married, divorced, widowed, or in between partnered relationship by choice or default. Whether we are a biological, bonus, or mother in waiting, mother in love, mother-in-law, or mother in spirit. Or whether we are reading a book, blogging, texting, scrolling through Instagram, tweeting on Twitter, connecting on Facebook or trying to figure out how to navigate the technology of social media. The seasons of celebration, are now, we don’t wait for them, we make them.

When anyone outside of ourselves prescribes our seasons of celebration, they and we unwittingly may limit our experience of Divine intersection in our everyday walk. Now don’t get me wrong, like anyone else, there are calendar dates that I look forward to with great anticipation. And I am grateful for those stipulated anniversaries that remind us to have fun, remember, be festive, gather family, and joyously appreciate the milestones in our lives with food, drinks, dancing, laughter, story-telling and picture-taking.

But what happens while we are waiting for those days to roll around? What do we do when we are sitting between, too far from the memory of our last celebration and not close enough to the next one?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again because it is still true…..

For as much as I love and celebrate the joyous occasions that meet me during the course of the four annual seasons,

I don’t have to wait for Christmas to be jolly and laugh out loud,

I don’t have to reserve New Year’s Eve to toot my horn and plant kisses on my loved ones

I don’t need bands playing and flags waving on the Fourth of July to step and prance to the rhythm of my heart and soul,

I don’t need a huge Thanksgiving turkey in the center of my table to be appreciative and generous,

I don’t have to check for Memorial Day to invite friends over for festivities, food, fellowship and fun.

And I don’t need a designated day off from work to grant myself time to rest, restore, and pamper

Because although they may appear as random days on the calendar,

My seasons of celebration come on days such as

April 13th, while I’m reaping, or February 5th, while I’m planting,

or September 7th while I am awaiting my harvest.

We have no control of this Covid-19 virus, when it came, how it has raged through the entire globe of humanity, and when it will make its final descent taking the life of its last victim. But we do have control over our ability to see, consider, and imagine beyond…., and to Celebrate. Celebrations change us from the inside out for good, for love, for hope, for happy, and for peace, ultimately improving the quality of our life. Celebration is needed and deserved. And to do so is our right, our responsibility, our offering, and our blessing.

Any time our mind, heart, spirit, body, and being has been enriched, enhanced, enlightened, inspired or edified…., Celebrate, be it in the pews or on the dance floor, sitting quietly or laughing raucously.

My Dear Sisters, My Dear Brothers, My Dear Friends,

Please, let our seasons be marked with celebration.