Goodbye, 2020

Goodbye, 2020. I am breaking up with you. In fact, I wish I never met you. We were so full of promise in the beginning. Oh, the dinner dates and the vacations we planned. You promised extended family get-togethers and luxurious hotel visits. You filled my mind with dreams for an unforgettable summer of cookouts and beaches. There were museums for visits and concerts in our future. We would hear beautiful choirs and visit Chicago. Hamilton tickets were purchased and Sedona beckoned. You promised to honor my age old traditions of Thanksgiving turkey, Holiday Pops, the Nutcracker, and our seven fish Christmas dinner packed with family.

Alas, all of your promises were empty.

Lady Covid showed up in her black velvet cape and you dropped me. Just like that and with almost no warning. Who was this lady of the night flowing into us? I refused to take her seriously right there in the beginning. So much is made of her. And where was she? In some foreign land, then faraway places. I would not allow her a drop of significance. She was just a silly fling with no obvious importance to me. I pleaded with you to forget her. But to no avail.

By March 7th, she grabbed me. No longer far away, no longer powerless. Our romantic pleasures, yours and mine, drained slowly almost imperceptibly. Stay home I was told. Stay away from her. She will hurt you.

So, I hunkered down, not quite believing the stories. I garnered new friends to help me through the lonely days and lonely nights. Zoom and FaceTime held me close and brought the world to me. I made nice with faces on a screen, torsos without legs. No touching. No hugging. No handshakes. Don’t even breathe on me.

You relented in summer and allowed gatherings. Outside. Warm weather. Socially distanced. Adhere to the six-foot rule or die. Such harsh rule-keeping. And oh, the deaths. You weren’t kidding. Obey me or die. Body bags and graves ravaged the news night and day on every single TV channel. Fear gripped an already divided nation. Stay away from me, we told each other. Do not come near me.

Cover your face. Cover your face. Do not leave the house. Lock everything tight. Lady Covid is lurking.

2020 you are a cheating lover. You’re leaving us now at the pinnacle of death. 300,000 lying in graves, dying alone. Santa Claus is not coming to town. There will be no carolers by the fire, no neighborhood parties, no favorite restaurants visited. Stay home you still shout. Don’t go out you say. She will get you, you warn.

No, we say. We will not. This lady will die. The vaccine is coming and we will take her out. We are smarter. We are stronger. We are together. So, leave us now and know this...some really great things happened as we hid in our houses. We got to know our friends and family on a deeper level. We made food and gave it to our neighbors. We planted more flowers than ever before. We stopped the rat race and enjoyed being slower. We read more books and put puzzles together. We made more love. We laughed way more with each other. We took our children out to Nature. We took long country drives. We decluttered our homes. We enjoyed long walks with loved ones. We cooked delicious food in our own kitchens. We contemplated our purpose and savored what it all means. We wrote poetry and sat in meditation. So, there. Get out.

Ohhhh, oh, oh, is that you 2021? Well, come on in!