Columnists
March into April
The last moments of March, 2021 and here we are, still staring down the double-barrel of a pandemic we just didn’t see coming. Last March, I remember looking forward to June, when we’d all be out-and-about and the virus would be dead and gone. But here we are, in the throes of a third wave, this time with variants. In light of what’s happening, the upcoming highlight of this week is LOML will be getting his first dose of vaccine and the second dose is booked. Gone are the days when we’d look forward to a day out with family or friends, or a lunch out after a morning of browsing in bookstores and poking around in antique shops. Nope, now we get excited about standing in a socially-distanced line, outside of an arena, waiting for a vaccination. Seriously, LOML and I thought our “golden years” would be spent on a beach in the South of France, sipping wine, nibbling on local cheeses and wondering which café we’d be sitting in at dinner time. We were poised for those days, and actually got a few in before COVID-19 put us all on high alert and our passports into the back of a file drawer. My carry-on mocks me whenever I pass it in the closet.
Yessiree, these days LOML and I get excited about the possibility of sitting on our side porch with a coffee or a glass of wine. The side porch has become our new travel destination. It’s a relatively inexpensive jaunt from La Cuisine to Le Porche via the fancy eating room. The porch doesn’t have a dress code, although we aren’t naturists, if you know what I mean. As I write this, we’re looking forward to a trip to Le Porche Sur le Côté de la Maison in the not-too-distant future. However, the weather forecast tells us we’ll likely be spending another two weeks dans La Cuisine à l’Arrière de la Maison, occasionally looking out of the window at the birds fighting the squirrels for the goodies in the feeders whilst drinking a mug of Kicking Horse. And I seriously thought I was over the Pandemic Doldrums. I am not. My dependence upon caffeine seems to be increasing. I don’t really feel the excitement of a new day until the caffeine hits my brain. Currently, the problem with my caffeine addiction are the treats that go with my afternoon coffee. The thing is, somedays I’m all over the pastries, cookies and muffins like a cheap suit. Other days not so much, but mostly I look forward to a go-with at coffee time. These days I’m still not operating in a calorie deficit, so the first two weeks of April, with the forecast of rain and more rain, aren’t going to flatter my bottom line, if you get my drift. Good thing for the neighbours, I’m pretty covered-up when I hit the side porch for a pause café.
So, April, eh!? How the H E double doubles did we get so close to April? Thursday is April 1 and I can barely remember January, let alone February and March. I should have all of my income tax stuff stacked up on the dining room table, and I don’t even have an update for the tax-calculating software yet. Heck, last July I was going to burn the old tax stuff and all of sudden it isn’t July 2020, anymore. I still have a box full of receipts and forms from a decade ago waiting for a good bonfire. And I feel as if I just pulled all of the mittens, gloves, hats and scarves out for the winter and now I’m up to my long undies packing it all away and digging out the broad brimmed hats, light jackets, sunglasses and zinc cream. I’m not sure if I’m ready for warmer weather when I didn’t even embrace the cold weather as seriously as I could have. Is it just me or does the Pandemic seem to be lasting “forever”? The days are flying by. How does that make any sense? Are we living in a parallel universe or a continuum of some kind?
New plan. I need a new plan. Yep, this week I’ll renew the burn permit and put “paid” to those old files. This week I’ll put the outside Christmas lights away, away— not just leave them in the front hall. This week I’ll put the snow shovels and the sidewalk salt into the shed and not leave them on the front porch. This week I’ll stop eating treats with my coffees, even though I deserve it. This week I’ll put the mittens, scarves and woolly things away where they belong. They don’t belong next to the outside Christmas lights in the front hall. This week I’ll put the rest of the Christmas ornaments away because we’re not in December anymore, Toto.
This week is April. I’m going to look forward, in slow motion, to May flowers after I wade through the showers.
Comments (0)