I was thinking of proposing to my family that we each come up with an image for New Year’s Day of how we will dispose of 2020. I imagined blowing up a very big balloon, writing 2020 on it with…
observer
A Somber Christmas
Christmas spirit is erupting. All over the neighborhood people have their lights up: icicles, strings, colored bulbs, white. Am I imagining it or are there more than usual? The neighbors have dragged out the inflatable snowmen (in one sad yard,…
The Slog
Virus numbers exploding, just as predicted for the fall: from November 25 - 27, cases went from 12 million to 13 million. There was a certain point at the beginning of the pandemic where it seemed like a challenge to…
Savoring the Moment
The news is already full of the problems ahead, with a president who refuses to concede, a Senate that will probably be obstructionist, a divided country, but I am taking a moment just to savor what has happened. In the…
Pandemic Election
Voting took place two days ago. It seems fitting that like everything else this year, it is the subject of great anxiety, conflicting reports, volleys on the left and volleys on the right. Is that because of the pandemic or…
The Bitter and the Savory
We are all looking for ways to find meaning during this time that just seems to stretch on and on. I love baking, but since I started having a wheat intolerance, I haven’t been doing much baking. Instead, I’ve been…
Reading My Way Through the Pandemic
I find that one of the few pleasures of this time is reading. I am reading more than usual, but with no children to chase around, I have more time than many other people. For me it is submersion. The…
Creativity, Courage, and Resilience
We took a trip to DC yesterday and it is interesting to see how differently various localities are treating mask wearing. In Washington, every person on the street had a mask on. This is because of an order from the…
Which Crisis?
I am carrying on with the daily chores of life, although with a little more care and trepidation than a few weeks ago. So many students are infected but have stayed in town, so I am trying to avoid running…
The Strain of These Times
The university started classes last Wednesday. Last night (Tuesday, less than a week later), we got the message that the university is reverting to online classes after 513 active cases of covid have been recorded among the student body. Totally…
