The crinkling eye above the mask. |
A furtive hug with a friend. |
The backyard haircuts are getting better. |
My choir still meets on Zoom. |
Friends who give me streaming passwords. |
Family reunion in January, before Covid. |
Miss family, but safer for them. |
Saved a lot of lipstick money. |
More homemade pasta, no more jeans. |
No shame in elastic-waist pants. |
Braless at home? No one cares. |
Mom, 87, rocking pretty, pandemic ponytail. |
Teenage son still likes to snuggle. |
My parents live two blocks away. |
No better excuse to avoid in-laws. |
This stinking year is nearly over. |
* |
Sunny mornings, a window facing east. |
My bicycle, the trail, each morning. |
Windows have never been so important. |
Toscanini’s recording of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. |
5329 games of solitaire, won 5286. |
Throwing the football with my sons. |
Jonesy got a hole in one. |
Still ridin’ my horse at seventy. |
Postcards crossing the country — real mail. |
Living in the Green Mountain State. |
So grateful to live in Canada. |
Left US for science-believing Germany. |
I am thankful for Pastor Bob. |
I’m just thankful for indoor plumbing. |
I am thankful to be thankful. |
Never been social; now I’m good. |
I am bored, but not dead. |
* |
Ambulance took him. He came home. |
Hearing granny laugh on the phone. |
It’s just a cold, not Covid. |
My parents did not get it. |
Reached age 92, grandson reached 3. |
I held my dying husband’s hand. |
Held my son as he died. |
Our kids, after my wife died. |
My wife gave me her kidney. |
Lung cancer team at Sloan Kettering. |
Got sober during 2020, stayed sober. |
Wasn’t too late to say sorry. |
Wildfires took much but we survived. |
Faith, family, friends, dedicated medical professionals. |
Dr. Fauci and all truth-speakers. |
Volunteers who take experimental vaccines. |
Healthcare workers. Healthcare workers. Healthcare workers. |
* |
Pandemic baby after years of trying. |
At twelve weeks, size of lime. |
Special-needs child, graduated feeding tube. |
My toddler and my weed guy. |
Toddler sees Audrey Hepburn, says “Mama!” |
I watched her learn to read. |
Water cooler chats with six-year-old son. |
Thankful for learning, in my pajamas. |
Teachers’ patience. “ … Reminder: no fart machines.” |
I teach funny, resilient 8th graders. |
High school, even in a pandemic. |
Survived first semester of online university. |
Six years later, wife completes PhD. |
Out of prison with great job. |
Rediscovering myself by reading the Bible. |
Stole my car, not my books. |
Tried. Failed. Failed worse. Kept going. |
* |
To be a United States citizen. |
Americans waited in line to vote. |
Thanks for voting, Americans. — Immigrant scientist. |
Gritty becoming an icon for democracy. |
Once again, my Black vote matters. |
God, family, freedom, Trump, health, USA. |
Trump is our best president ever. |
Vaccines are coming. Thank you, Trump. |
Vaccine is coming, Trump is going. |
Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter. |
Biden won the election — thank God. |
Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Georgia. |
Paris Climate Agreement returns in January. |
The first female Vice President, baby. |
The women who came before me. |
Democracy triumphed. Now pass the stuffing. |
* |
Aunt’s Jell-O salad not gonna happen. |
Solitary Thanksgiving means no turkey. LOBSTER. |
Alone, spouses thankful for tiny turkey. |
Daughter lovingly uninviting me for Thanksgiving. |
Zoom Thanksgiving beats an ICU Christmas. |
Thankful for sweet potato pie, y’all. |
Red or white, and occasionally rosé. |
The many people who deliver food. |
My restaurant colleagues, who never quit. |
248 cocktail hours with my mom. |
Empty calendar means frequent dinners together. |
There’s really more kindness than hate. |
* |
We’re falling in love over FaceTime. |
Fell in love six feet apart. |
I have someone I can hug. |
Even after I cheated, she stayed. |
The freedom of filing for divorce. |
Lost job. Lost boyfriend. Found happiness. |
I might marry Coronavirus Boy Toy. |
Gayer than ever, very in love. |
Postponed wedding, having a baby instead. |
Fell in love at age 75. |
I proposed and she said yes. |
Will you marry me, Taylor Hollenkamp? |
