We are inching closer to 2021, and I’m very much looking forward to the new year. I’m ready for it in a way I’ve never been before. And it’s not just because this fucking year can suck it, but because I’m ready for new things. I feel like, despite everything — the crazy uncertainty, the tremulous times, the saddened edges of a time-worn life — I’ve managed to get myself to a better place. Not a perfect place, but a better one. And I’m eager for this pandemic to lift so that I can greet a new chapter.
Sunday
This is what I often wake to. He’s sitting on the top of his little set of stairs, waiting for me to get up and get him treats. Wish the rest of my day brought me as much joy as this sight. Though, as far as Mondays go, this one was okay. We transitioned back to fully remote learning and we had good attendance and good conversations with kids.
Monday
I got my Choo Choo train running to entertain Sam. We was mildly curious.
Tuesday
Sometimes Sammy sleeps in the most ridiculous positions…
But I was feeling this one. A headache plagued me most of the day, along with handfuls of menial tasks. I was relieved when I could join Sam on the couch, curling up around him. He likes to be next to me, but he doesn’t necessarily like touching me. Or rather, me touching him. So when I snuggle up to him, he sighs. Actually sighs. And telegraphs his thoughts:
“Oh. She’s wrapping herself around me again. Hopefully she doesn’t try to pet me too much… wait… yep. There she goes again. Sigh.”
Wednesday
Nothing entertains Sam as much as a cardboard box.
Thursday
My dad unexpectedly showed in the middle of the day to help clear me out. I was still teaching, so I couldn’t join him until he was almost done. I felt incredibly guilty, but at least my neighbors lent a hand with their snowblower. Sometimes people are kind. And my dad’s a gem. A real, true gem.
Friday
I couldn’t resist. He’s just always there with me.
… I enjoyed a ridiculous lunch break in which Loucy and I played solitaire “together.” I was trying to teach him the game Gaps and he was so atrociously bad at it that I actually had him set it up, snap a pic, and send it to me so I could get my cards in the exact same order (in Gaps, you lay out all the cards face up). I was literally laughing out loud when after round one, I had eighteen cards in place and he had four.
The other highlight of my day was receiving a random, anonymous gift in the mail. I get those with strange regularity. Although I suppose the random gifts are not always anonymous. I received a knife holder made of old books a few weeks ago that I knew was from my old coworker Judith. One time I received a Fugazi vinyl record that was obviously from Dr. Erion. I’ve been gifted about four publication subscriptions from Kath, including The New Yorker and Poets & Writers… A few times washi tape and special pens have arrived that I never ordered. When these things show up, I double check Amazon and Etsy to make sure I didn’t order them and forget, then I message Kath; she’s usually the gifter.
This time it was a hand-crafted dot journal that I quickly sussed out came from my brother’s girlfriend.
Keep ’em coming, world. I’m so here for these things! I don’t need the gifts, but they’re so thoughtful. They always put a smile on my face because they remind me of the people I’m thankful to have in my life.
Saturday
Hey, look! Another picture of my cat!
Saturdays have been weird lately. Time passes so slowly and so quickly, and though there was a moment of brightness (seen here), the sky was mostly an unchanging, dull gray that made it difficult to figure out what the hell time it actually was. It felt simultaneously 10:00 AM and 7:00 PM when it was 3:45.