As I look at this photo of Kermit I’m struck by two things.  One, I never saw Eunice use this door, so to see Kermit sitting outside on that stoop intrigues me.  I wonder why he’s sitting there of all places?  And then as I look at him, even though it’s blurry, I feel the tiredness that he seems to feel.  The definition of tired is to feel in need of rest of sleep.  And then I wonder if Kermit himself felt tired.  Was it just for a full days work or could it have been more? 

I have been blessed with an extremely entitled life.  I’ve never known hunger or want for basic items to live.  I’ve been encouraged to voice how I feel and told that people are proud of me for a job well done.  I’ve never been denied entry based on the color of my skin.  And I’ve never had to stand up and demand to be seen as a certain gender.  While the only battle I have to fight is that of being a woman and making less than my male counterparts, I have a good job. But I imagine that any of those things would be enough to make one tired.  And when you’re tired, it makes everything hard.  Even just life is hard. Hard to get up.  Hard to keep going.  Hard just to be. You need rest from the struggle.  To just be able to exist and feel productive.    Being tired is such a negative that at times it’s easy to listen to that inner voice that tells you a task is too great for you to accomplish.  

This past year was hard.  I’d gone a whole year without getting Covid and then once I had it, I felt paralyzed by it.  My very presence threatened others, my grandson, my children, my spouse, my parents.  All I wanted to was to be comforted by my mother, because let’s face it who doesn’t want their mom when they are sick, and that was the last thing that was possible.  After I healed and returned to work but I didn’t return to society.  I was scared of the thought of getting covid again and It took me several months before I realized that mentally, I was tired. And that the only way I could make it better was to rest my brain.  I read 200 books last year.  I will probably never read that many again, but it was because of Covid that I did.  Reading helped my mind rest and escape from being tired.  I could then look around, rested and think what can I do right now to help?  To make every person I meet and every situation I’m in a little better?  So at the end of the day I’m tired, but it’s because of a job well done.  

I encourage us all to find something we care about, making hats for the homeless, putting up a free library at your house, volunteering at your local animal shelter, taking meals to seniors, something that you can be proud of how you changed the world for someone and made it a better place.  I think Kermit would be proud of us all for that and say “Good Job, now have a rest”