It’s been just over a week since Dad died and the things that get to me aren’t what I expected. Going to his house or driving his car – fine. Sitting on a park bench waiting for the kids to go to the bathroom – completely choked up. I keep feeling like I see him coming around corners or in the edges of my peripheral vision.
That’s the amount of time between the declaration of the initial COVID-19 emergency declaration in New York State (March 7, 2020) and when our house lost its status as COVID-free (April 23, 2022). It was nice while it lasted!
I woke yesterday with what I thought were bad seasonal allergies, with the only thing unusual being a very mild sore throat. Out of what I suspected was an abundance of caution, I took an at-home COVID-19 test and put on a mask. While the test kit said it can sometimes take as long as 15 minutes for the test result to appear, mine was almost instant and very clear, indicating a high level of virus in my system. Thankfully, our house has a family room with an adjacent bedroom that is reasonably isolated from the rest of the house, so I immediately moved everything I need to work from home into there and started isolating myself from the rest of the family. With a little bit of luck, this will hopefully begin and end with me.
Nothing reminds me of the Christmas Eve’s of my youth like looking at the soft glow of luminaries in the snow with a belly full of cookies and Chinese food. The fact that something as simple as a paper bag, some sand, and a tealight can make something so beautiful never ceases to astound me.
I received this “portable” beauty for my parents as an early birthday present. It’s missing a manual and some suction cups, but it works great for a radio that was discontinued during the Korean War. It’s capable of running off both DC mains service and large dry cell batteries in addition to AC, so I’ll be prepared if this whole Tesla fad finally peters out. And there’s no denying that it just looks great on a shelf.
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