I missed my self-imposed Monday morning deadline by several days, but hopefully you will forgive me. After five months of pandemic limitations, we arranged a visit with our son’s family. We got to spend time with our beloved granddaughter! To add to the joy, our daughter and son-in-law-to-be came too! We were all extra-careful in the weeks leading up to the visit, no one had any symptoms (though every day I imagined every symptom in the book!) and we decided to take the risk. They came for six days (Leah and Ben were here for four)! We picked blueberries (granddaughter ate every single one she picked, none made it to the bucket), we swam in our pool for hours, we watched 101 Dalmations and Onward many times over, we ate great meals and generally reveled in their company. I put aside my writing. I took many photographs to help remember the wonders of a two year old. On Monday Leah and Ben returned to their work life and yesterday, in the midst of the downpour that was the remnants of Isaias, Dan and his family packed up and drove home. It was a bittersweet goodbye, but we were left with a treasure trove of memories.
Today I have root canal to look forward to – I’m not joking. I probably could have timed that better. The good news is that we already have another visit planned so it will not be so long until we see each other – just a few weeks, not an endless five months (assuming no spike in Covid or other disaster).
One other exciting thing since I last posted, the essay I wrote that was accepted to an online journal has gone live! (I wrote bout that in Victory! ) I am honored and excited to be included in this edition of Trolley, the literary journal of the New York State Writers Institute. The theme for the magazine was our experience during the pandemic – poets, essayists and visual artists contributed. I hope you’ll explore it. Here is the link to my story. Happy reading!
Stories I Tell Myself 
So happy for you and Gary, Linda! I can picture the joy of all of you enjoying your time together. If anything, COVID has hit home the absolute necessity of family ties.
Your choice of subject could not be more timely. Paul and Em are coming for an overnight visit this weekend. Ira and I agonized over whether we could relax our concern over putting them up in the house, and in the end decided we could not. The stakes are just too high. The diagnosed cases in MA are starting to rise again. They are coming from CT where they periodically quarantine with Em’s family. So we decided not to roll the dice and will put them up in a local hotel. We can share meals in the back yard, distanced or inside, then masked and distanced afterward. It takes work to plan and manage expectations for visits now, but it sure beats the alternative.
Congratulations on such a wonderful accomplishment. I really enjoyed that piece.
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As usual your blog was wonderful. It reminded me of long ago summer vacations and picking blueberries with the grand kids. Another memory from this pandemic year.
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It seems like joy is in such short supply but apparently it is not extinct and you captured it such that one can almost touch it in this post.
I think, sometimes, joy can be as contagious as that horrible virus, a salve, a medicine for the weary soul.
It really was a wonderful time and you described it so well. Here is to hoping others get their chances to feel that joy, however they are able to manufacture it.
Thank you for the uplifting post.
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I loved both Catching up and Victory. You made great memories with Dan , Beth, and Evelyn. Your writing always makes me feel like I was there with you. Victory was so relatable. I am sure that the many people that read it will connect with your experiences. Hope your root canal went ok!!
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