how it’s going

Six months ago we made our last dump run, filled our front lawn with the last of the give-away free-stuff, watched the movers load up a houseful and drive west, and then we shut the door on our Vermont home one last time. Late July can be an iffy time to drive across the stormy mid-west and most certainly the scorching west but without too much strain we arrived in our new SoCal condo unscathed. There was some lag time before the movers arrived while we “camped” in our empty place, but with makeshift “furniture” and one-skillet cooking, we did just fine. I always swore I would not move somewhere just because that’s where my children now lived, but life certainly changes when a grandchild arrives on the scene. After a year of flying back and forth, we decided he just might be reason enough to move to the Gold Coast, with the ocean biking-distance from our home and palm trees swaying under blue skies most every day. Six months in, yes, he’s worth it.

 young boy laughing on a swing

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Trapeze Artists

And just when we thought life was a given a never ending treadmill of home to work and back again with no reprieve COVID 19 showed up and slammed the door in our face. No questions asked just shut tight with whatever we might face all alone without our gyms and theaters and courts and spectacular spectaulars. Holy shit peeps, this got real zero to sixty, and somehow we’re all still flying high like trapeze artists. I don’t know about you, but I feel as if I am swinging without a net, just one second to the next, all unchartered, all frightening, all unknown, and yet, we are all doing it with finesse. Huge shout out to my teacher buddies and administrators, the special educators and para educators, and everyone else moving the cogs in the school system round and round and let’s not forget the scores of students sitting alone in their bedrooms or surrounded by family in shared spaces or those homeless kids seeking shelter and still logging in to google hangouts and zooms and youtube or whatever platform they can to stay connected and stay in school and stay sane and yeah still learn. You are all my heroes right now. Class of 2020, you are people we will write poetry about, sing hallelujah for decades about, for you are relinquishing prom and yearbook deadlines and graduations dates and final everything. You are stronger than you think. And we will find a way to hold on. A way to swing through the paces, and make this look effortless. A way to make this all work like magic.

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still life

Here we are. On our own couches. In the middle of our own living rooms. Reading an actual magazine. In loungewear. Bought online. Yeah. There are a few perks during the scary and dark days which have clouded our planet and forced us all indoors. I am not here to tell you what you should be doing to survive these days, but just wanted to let you know that we will, mostly, and I for one plan to celebrate epically on the other side.

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