The crew had not yet decided where we wanted to go next when that was answered for us. We were going nowhere, along with the rest of the world. Everyone was doing their best to not contract Covid 19. My daughter who was managing a restaurant at the time came home and announced that she had been in contact with someone who tested positive and we all now had to get tested. That included myself, my grandson, my daughter, her husband and two friends. Aside from my daughter at work, the rest of us had only been in contact with each other. We caravanned to the designated testing site and submitted to the uncomfortable nose swab. No one had any symptoms so we were all pretty confident that we were OK. Several days later the results were in. Everyone was negative-except me! Of all of us, I was the one who had the least contact with anyone since I work at home. I still can’t understand how that happened. I had no symptoms, my body temperature was lower than normal and no respiratory distress at all. It was confirmed when I was cooking bacon and realized I couldn’t smell it. I had to verify what was happening so I took it a step further and opened up a bag of peeled garlic cloves and NOTHING. I bundled my grandson off to my daughter and spent the next two weeks alternating between periods of blissful peace and quiet and maddening boredom. Quarantine over, there wasn’t much to look forward to. Increasing numbers of illness and death on a daily basis with confusion and contradiction from those in charge. I was luckier than most since aside from not being able to plan our next adventure, my routine really didn’t change much. However, I don’t remember a time when food shopping was the highlight of my week even if we had to be masked and distant.
As tragic as 2020 was, it was also a year, for me, of more rainbows (several doubles) than I have ever seen. I had to believe better things were in store. Somehow life manages to prevail and we humans survive. My grandson and I were invited to be part of a friends local wedding. I admit it felt good to get dressed up and participate in a celebration.
I did manage to get back to Long Island for a quick weekend and a reunion with the crew. In spite of the safety regulations we managed to have a fun night in the large tent the restaurant had set up in the parking lot.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the previous post, the one opportunity to travel which was a necessity, was not a happy one. After the service for my grandson’s mom, we drove to Massachusetts and stayed for a few days to get acquainted with my brand new great grandson. The circle of life, never ending.
I love this last picture, four generations. When did I get this old?
We made it through the holidays. My usual Thanksgiving extravaganza didn’t change. A dozen vegetables, two types of stuffing, two types of bread and five pies, all made from scratch and of course, the turkey. I’ve been doing this for decades and have developed a routine which makes it manageable. However, this year I added a key lime pie since I had a tiny little tree that gave me enough key limes for a pie.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I share with my daughter. We always take one night to make Christmas cookies and this year I found the perfect theme. My daughter is a black belt in karate and I found this cookie kit-Ninjabread Cookies!
Between the wine and the cookie decorating, it was great fun. And so, 2020 came to an almost welcome close.