When I look back to the beginning of the Pandemic, I still can’t quite take in the enormity of it all. As I tried, I looked back at my diaries and photos, and I created this timeline.  

On the 20th of Feb 2020, I went to Amsterdam for a retreat and one of the hot topics of concern was what would this COVID virus means for us all.  

On the 27th of Feb the puppy love of my life, Phill, left for a better place and I was on my knees.  It still hurts now but we had his love for 15 years and it was wonderful.

On March 3rd Audrey was having hand surgery and the very jolly doctor announced that with all the had sanitizer he used it could never infect him.  We shook our heads as we left.

By March 13th Costco was limiting the number of items that you could buy, and the queues were the length of the store.  

By March 20th we were in lockdown and recording the first of our jailhouse rock dancing videos…. they are quite something and by the time we added ABBA to mix it was summer, but I digress.  

I freely admit that at the end of March and early April, when I was first out delivering meals for the very wonderful Second Helpings, I was scared stiff at times.  In fact, for a week, I stopped but the realization of the burgeoning need screwed my head back on tight and I went into full-on masking, gloving, distancing, and a lot of praying.

I was lucky enough to be asked by Jennifer Vigran, CEO of Second Helpings to help with the COVID response.  And I did so almost with relief as it took my mind off me and onto the staff, volunteers, and clients. netlogx rallied magnificently and we helped to shape up the response under Jen’s magnificent leadership.  Then, well we just kept going.  Learning, adopting, and changing to get the job done.

In the middle of all this, on May 8th my mother, who had been ill and in care for a long time, died peacefully. I was grateful that she didn’t have to suffer with COVID, but it was like having whiplash. 

Here I was, locked down with my BFF, who was also being the cheer leader for our friends and family across the world. We created messaging groups to connect everyone, and we played games and joined in quizzes and just hung out together.  We danced and sang and sometimes we had a little cry and moved on. We shared bread and cakes and all kinds of dishes with our neighbors as we checked in on them and they in on us.  

At the end of the year, we gave thanks, we voted, and we put up the decorations for every religious and secular celebration.  The Christmas tree is still up with just its lights on and will stay there until our eldest comes home and fills the house with his love and charisma! 

The new year saw our dads get their jabs and that brought huge relief.  Then we got ours and were more hopeful than ever. Then, wonderfully our new graduate got a jab, a cab, a plane, and a chest crushing hug from his mum!  He was home for the summer and my heart is still singing. 

As I write this we are waiting to see if we can visit the UK but as always in this thing it’s far from clear.  But what I do know is that we have come through all of this with love and with the gift of positivity.  

“If you can meet triumph and disaster 

And treat those two imposters the same…”

“Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

  And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Well, Rudyard my friend, I think that it not about being a man….it is about being a human. I’m positive about that.