Gathering is an ideology I used to subscribe to so this new stay-in-place order seems like such a foreign concept. We have now begun the month of April which typically is the month Sister Golden Hair arrives with her brood and we begin our ‘flock together’ family time which goes on for the entire month. We cook meals and eat like the old-world Italians, gathering around a long table and feasting on the sumptuous food that comes out of the cucina. Times have changed dramatically as you all know. I do not have my family to warm me this April and the old-world Italians we emulate are deep in crisis too, many losing their battle to this deadly destructive virus.
I long for a rendezvous of any dimension, but for my own good and for the protection of the Professor’s good health, I will soothe that yearning with meals prepared for just the two of us. Party of two, if you please! And, I will continue the play of the continuous Scrabble game we’ve got going even though I am most always the loser (he is a Professor after all!) It’s the new rhythm – an uncharted cadence.
I believe in the certainty that we will get back to the pattern of living that was our normal. I believe that in these dim quiet days we will find a beautiful voice that speaks to each of us. Perhaps a ‘life blueprint’ of which we may have we had lost sight. Regardless, optimism is most certainly promised after the scourge of this disease has passed.
So, gather your families and dear friends in your heart instead of your tables. Remember, thoughts are prayers. Act on your thoughts – give love and receive love at this curious and strange time – that’s the best we can do.
And, remember – Only Count The Happy Hours!
