When will it end?

How many trips did you cancel this year? Our first, a trip to Italy, was planned for June. The second was planned for the Christmas Holiday with family in Florida. With the first we had no choice. Planes stopped flying and our destination cooking school was shut down. With the second, just days before we were to leave on the auto train, we were frightened by horrific COVID-19 infection numbers. We canceled. In Florida, my family was unwittily exposed. We would have been with them.

They were young and strong, so they did not test positive and, if they had, they would be asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms. Like us, they quarantined. I called daily to check.

Woiuld 2021 bring improvements? Would we finally get vaccines? Would we feel safe outside of our home again? Who knew? But I did hope it would be better—surely it couldn’t be worse then the year we just lived through.

My plan was simple. I kept sitting in front of my laptop, writing and gazing out the window, taking in the sunlit river and city view until it was safe again to venture among people. I miss my friends gathered, lingering over glasses of wine and burgers at our local bar. I craved simple pleasures missed—a walk through an art gallery, an evening at the theatre, an morning in the park listening to a live concert, a ride on the metro, or a morning browsing in a book store, elbow to elbow with like minded readers. I wanted people face-to-face, working together, no longer isolated, or scared of losing their home or having enough food. I wanted to see kids being kids again, yelling in the playground. I knew they're resilient but need each other and their teachers. When will the fabric of our lives be mended?