It’s beyond crazy that we are already in the month of March, and spring will soon be upon us! The world is moving in a maddening rush all around us, and the irony of this moment, compared with the last two years, of what seemed like interminable agony for so many – is not lost on me. 

I was sitting this weekend at a Musical Theater competition for my daughter – the budding Broadway showstopper Miss Keeling Birdsong – and I realized that this competition, two years ago, was when “normal” came to a screeching halt. For it was that weekend when the world began to buzz, and our thoughts turned to impending doom and an unsettling fear over this new phenomenon known as COVID -19. I can distinctly remember thinking, as we traversed a large hotel filled to the brim with an overabundance of people from all over, that if catching this new virus was possible, it was surely possible here. Little did I know that once we left that weekend and returned home, that life as we knew it was going to change. 

Isn’t that a funny thing to say? I mean, in so many of our lifetimes, we really haven’t had to say something like that. The world turned inward, and everyone was expected to hunker down, hideout and, oh yes, wear a mask. Another thought as I sat watching hundreds of talented kids on stage this weekend, performing their hearts out… all while wearing a smile! And a smile I could see. No more masks! Seemingly no more fear. And yes, in a small space of the world, a microcosm of multiple generations, ethnicities, talents and hometowns – it was a place filled with possibilities, filled with joy and filled with smiles – smiles you could see!

I smiled, thinking of how much this moment in time meant to my daughter, me, and everyone there. We have gotten through something we don’t understand, and we have endured things we can never really forget or come back from, but what we can do, is smile again. Smile so everyone can see and push forward past all of this. It does feel like this March symbolizes a shift for our world when it comes to the virus. As we shift to supporting our fellow humans and peace-loving friends in Ukraine and all around the world – it does strike me that if we can keep on smiling and keep on singing, dancing, whatever inspires us to be normal – then we can get through anything right? 

As we enter the spring Williamson County, here in our little corner of this vast world, pray for Ukraine, thank the Lord above for the end to the pandemic, and smile. That smile has been missed. Normal has been missed. And we can never allow ourselves to believe again that normal isn’t something to treasure, strive for, believe in and smile about.

Shelly Robertson Birdsong

Editor In Chief | Publisher

shelly@robertsonmediagroup.com