Savoring May

I rarely show pics of V here yet can’t resist sharing this recent photo of him with a friend at the equine therapy center where he interns once a week. So apropos of nothing here’s a sweet shot.

I wrote a post I didn’t publish (that happens occasionally) because it seemed so petty in light of everything going on with those I know and beyond, in the bigger world, from a racist attack in Buffalo to ongoing war to Roe to the recent victories of so many far right candidates. It was a simple homage to May, one of my favorite months. I celebrate my birthday; I also celebrate the heart of spring with all its blooming trees and flowers. In the course of the month I get to see them go from bud to flower to a lovely if bittersweet plethora of petals on the ground, another season come and gone. So I savor May for what it brings and how fleeting it is in all its beauty.

Family news, both good and bad. B graduated and is looking for a job, then a place to live. I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that he is now in Seattle. It’s taken me enough time just to settle into the reality of being a bicoastal family. On top of that a new city to learn again. Yet I’m so delighted that some of my favorite people live there and will be wonderful company when I visit.  I’m proud of and excited for B and whatever is to come. I have faith in him and his path.

On the bad side, my brother and dad both have COVID. Both cases appear to be mild, thankfully. I worry about them both but especially my father. Yet at 95 he seems to be faring okay relatively speaking. So many friends and family have been sick with it recently, with cases ranging from asymptomatic to some really rough days of flu-like symptoms. It makes me all the more aware of how vulnerable we all are, in many ways. I pray that they both will be well soon.

On the homefront some nice in person time with friends: a simple breakfast that felt monumental because it’s been quite a while since I’ve sat down with a friend in person, and it had been more months than we could figure – time taking on a certain convoluted sense during the pandemic – since I’d seen this particular friend. The winter and early spring just took that opportunity to sit outside away and only now with the recent warming do we start to gather again. It’s been so nice to be out for longer walks, seeing so many more of my neighbors out, all of us so happy to be out in our shirtsleeves with no bulky outerwear. I walked to the restaurant and nabbed an outdoor table and ordered a fresh squeezed juice as I waited for my friend to arrive, just sitting and people watching, a favorite pastime I only now realize that I always took for granted. Now I savor those few minutes on a perfectly moderate day – it will be scorching hot soon enough – to watch the world go by.

Later in the week we went to our neighbor’s quinceaneros, which is a lot like a bat mitzvah except instead of bagels and lox there’s pork and plantains, and the kids are two years older. Also no torah portion. In a tent in their backyard there was a buffet of delicious food and a DJ set up and plenty of dancing. Where do 15 year olds learn such perfect choreography these days? Tik Tok? Insta? Snapchat? I am not up on where this age group gets its info but they all dance in unison and it’s fun to watch. The DJ plays some tunes that gets us older generations up on our feet and it’s an altogether fun evening, a rare night out for T & me, all right across the street. Thankfully we were able to tap into services V receives now that he’s 21 to have someone – a very nice woman, it turns out – to come over to be with him so that we could go out.  There are some benefits to this whole new 21+ world we’ve entered that we are just starting to tap into.  

So nothing too thrilling  and yet it felt that way to me. To be out among people again.  I’m hoping to stay healthy so I can keep seeing people I love in person. 

Wishes to all to be safe and well.