How to Survive This Winter

And election. And holiday season.

99 Club

This summer was a welcome respite from the long months indoors closed off from so many faces that I love.

It was deeply gratifying to have friends over for outdoor dinners and drinks on the porch. Even if at separate tables with some feet between us, I could feel the warmth of companionship right down to my toes.

The dogs, however, did not socially distance.

To gather with beloved others outdoors to hike and kayak and splash in the waves.

To hold a new niece for the first time.

It wasn’t everything. But it was a whole heck of a lot.

Now as the days grow shorter and the New England temperatures begin their steady decline, the virus is surging both locally and nationally, and also creeping in on those I love, in what feels like a tight net drawing closer and closer.

First, my parents’ favorite restaurant closed for an outbreak. Then cases started springing up where I teach. Where my daughter goes to school. My in-laws’ tennis…