COVID Holiday Greetings 2020

                                                                                                                                                                      Hello COVID Quarantiners,                                                                                    December 2020

Some good things result from the Corona virus, one of which is a shorter-than-usual Holiday letter. There were manly things I couldn’t do because of COVID, but I can tell you what I did do.

2020 started out great, as I hope it did for you too. I spent the holidays in Longmont CO with my sister and brother-in-law, my niece and her family, and my nephew and his wife. After seeing in the new year I spent a few weeks cocooning in Minnesota before heading down to the British Virgin Islands for the first of two trips to teach sailing. How nice to see it again in all its splendor, now with more of the debris removed after the devastating Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. The first trip was a whirlwind, but that was ok because I was scheduled to be back in April, with a free week in between classes, a first. I was going to lounge around and scuba dive as if on vacation.

It wasn’t long after my return that the Corona virus halted not only that trip, but also a trip to Colorado for more bonding with my great niece and nephew in March, and a sailboat delivery to help a friend move his catamaran from Puerto Vallarta to San Diego. That took care of March, April and May. So what to do for spring and summer?

When I friend of mine who owns a sail loft found out I was home, he roped me into volunteering for a new project. He actually migrated his whole operation to producing face shields and distributing them free of charge. I managed the assembly of boxes of materials for volunteers to put together the shields, while others distributed the completed product. In total about 20,000 face shields were delivered primarily in and around the Twin Cities.

As I was thinking of packing up my car for a road trip to Colorado, the sailing school informed me that with some changes to the norm, the schedule was rapidly filling up. People were getting bored, and outside activities were in demand, including sailing. The benefit to this was students were much better prepared this year, which was good given the reduced class size. With only two students on the boat, I got to participate in sailing more than previously. Couples were challenged more, and had better clarity of what it takes to double-hand a sailboat. Boat sales, like bike and other outdoor equipment, surged. I’m now thinking if I ever want to buy a sailboat (or some type of RV as many of my sailing friends have already done), I’m just going to wait a few years when these newbies decide living aboard isn’t for them.

Teaching sailing lasted until the end of September, giving me a few weeks to relax before driving out to Colorado to celebrate my great nephew’s 1^st birthday. No big celebration because of COVID, just the immediate family and me. Phoenix wasn’t too much into cake bashing. Halloween was beautiful here, making curbside trick-or-treating fun with Cat Luna, Pumpkin Phoenix, Witch Laura and Vampire Brian. Thanksgiving was just the five of us enjoying smoked turkey thanks to Brian, who is the real chef in this family, and a great hands-on father too.

I’m staying in a house right around the corner from my niece that my sister and brother-in-law rented. My “rent” payment, 10 pictures and videos per week, is significant since thanks to COVID, they are stuck in Boston. Though I don’t see the kids every day, pictures of sleepovers with Luna and dinners and hikes with the family provide enough to keep my sister as happy as she can be without being face-to-face with her grandchildren.

Because I have all day to myself, I’m keeping busy with things I could also be doing at home plus engaging in an underlying interest in what’s known here as horsemanship That means I’m taking riding lessons. It’s at a place that integrates the essence of yoga into the relationship between horses and humans. I’m not sure if this is simply recalling the city-slicker vacation I took 30 years ago, a reaction to watching nine seasons of Heartland or, most likely, simply missing furry friends.

My last furry friend, a foster cat named Ribbons, was with me or in my home for almost six months, the longest I’ve had a foster cat. Though I didn’t see it at first, she was a true Torti. She showed what I call her “torti-tude” when people came to meet her. It took four homes before she decided she would stay, saving me from being a foster-failure, which is one who adopts their foster cat. I miss seeing her walk up steps to my bed, pushing her out of the way so I could read, and watching her drink water in the bathtub, yep, the bathtub.

Christmas will be smaller this year, though I won’t say quieter. Excitement is already high with three-year old Luna anticipating the arrival of Santa and one-year old Phoenix loving to pull the ornaments and ribbons off of the Christmas tree.

Here’s hoping you’ve had some wonderful adventures during the time of COVID, and you’ve managed as best as possible. When life turns, at some point, to a new normal I hope we can adjust to it with grace and optimism. In the meantime, I wish you a merry, COVID-safe holiday season and new year of peace and fulfillment.

Airhugs,
Vicki