The Boston was to have happened on Monday. It did not. And yes, this quarantine is like a marathon and we have come to the part that in Boston we call Heartbreak Hill —or is it Heart Brake Hill?

No museums are open, nor any playgrounds where out-of-school children can play. No theaters, restaurants or other entertainments are available to us.

For me, the most difficult thing is I can’t walk the beaches on brisk spring days when flowers are in bloom and summer is just ahead.

So, here we are, running through an unwanted, least expected time of stress. This feels a lot like a marathon, and we are reaching the end of tolerance.

Who would have thought a year ago that schools and workplaces would be closed for months or that 25 million Americans would be filing for unemployment? We could not have imagined sheltering at home to stop the spread of a deadly disease. But that is what we are facing, and it is a heart break.

Some of us are fed up and asking why? Some of us are asking, what can I do? So here is some help with that.

Try taking a “heart brake.”

Take this time to do for yourself things you have never had time for or dared to do:

• Sleep when you need to
• Read the books you have stored on your shelf
• Send or leave a friend a gift of flowers, masks, or just a written note (Many of our elderly are shut in and do not even have access to internet. Some do not have TVs)

It is a time for us to look outward and to become the bearers of God’s good news through our actions.

I have no doubt that God is with us in this pandemic, asking us to rethink what is and who are important to us. We might face our limitations and maybe even dare to do something we have never done before. Paint a picture. Cook a gourmet meal. Give to someone in need. Take stock of those we have harmed or disliked. Re-assess the issues.

Pray, think, sing! Dance like no one is watching. As I sit here in my dining room, I can hear the someone singing on my street, “When the Saints go marching in!”

Be joyful my friends. We are living in history. What we do today is a measure of our substance. And yes, God is there cheering us on.

Be well, this “heartbreak” can be fixed, and this ‘brake’ is ours for the making of a blessing.

God Bless you all,

The Rev. Joyce Caggiano