Some things to be happy about.

My last post was sad and angry. No apologies, that's part of how everyone feels right now. That and confused, uncertain, anxious and lonesome. It's our world. It may be that way for quite some time. 

But this week also had some good things in it, at least for me. Two wonderful evenings:  Thursday night my "extra family" came over to enjoy the swimming pool on my property and have dinner. A family of four, all sequestered for the past many weeks, needed a break, needed some socialization and the two pre-teen boys needed to frolic in the pool. It was a hot day, in the 90's, frolicking was appropriate. We grilled some chicken and veggies and sat outside and enjoyed the evening and each other's company. Was it risky?  In my mind it was a lot less risky than going to the grocery store.  People with children are extremely vigilant about who their kids mix with. In this case, those two boys had mingled with just their family and the adults were working from home. I had zero fear about having them at my home. It was one of the best afternoon/evenings I have had all year.  Happy laughter, the warmth of love and friends, the delight that comes from being part of a family. All of it was joyful.

Then, another great evening followed!  Friday night my daughter picked up dinner from Valette, an exceptional restaurant in Healdsburg.  We had perused their take-out menu earlier in the week, ordered and were totally happy with our selections. Jenn and Dar set up a table in their garage, it was another beautiful evening, and with two of their good, local friends, the five of us had Valette cocktails, first and second courses and dessert by candlelight.  Lots of laughing (no hugging, however) and not really a lot of social distancing, but again, these are people who have been very careful about who they see and meet with. I had no hesitation about being in their company.  The evening went on until the late hours with music, singing, talking and simply sharing each other's company.  That kind of an evening has been in short supply lately, as we all know.

There are dangers everywhere: the grocery store, the post office, passing someone on a walking trail. Since mid March we have all cocooned ourselves away from danger and most of us have avoided the virus.  Yes, having two evenings in a row with people I love might have been chancy but it was a chance I was willing to take and will take it again if those circumstances are repeated.  

So many things we will not be doing very soon: going to a play, to a movie theater, flying on a plane, eating in a restaurant, going to a ball game, even joining a large group for a wedding or birthday celebration. If we can have small, intimate gatherings of five or six people now and then and feel safe and good about it, then that's what we are going to do in order to maintain some semblance of human contact.  Some of us are okay with being alone a lot but no one is okay being alone all of the time.  We need a tiny bit of socialization just to reboot our emotional stability and stay sane.

It's a new week. Take a deep breath, dive into whatever is making you happy these days and stay healthy. 

xo

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