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All my life I have been loud. This is a time when I can be quiet, even silent. And listen. I am hesitant to jump back in with both feet. Surprise, surprise—maybe the gradualness of post-COVIDtide re-entry will allow me to continue experimenting with this newer manner.  

Briefly, a focus for our pod during the pandemic has been course corrections in terms of digestion. Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the details. When one’s husband has his intestines cut to remove his bladder, you can imagine the healing involved. I have been home to witness and participate fully. Ah, the experimenting: acupuncture, scans, blood tests, diets, medicines. Even a tiny camera in a pill. Thank God, Rob is a scientist at heart. Nothing in this regard is short of miraculous. This is Wellness at 70.

We learned a great Spanish word for leftovers while in Chile—“lumami” (food from lunes, martes and miercoles, generally eaten later in the week). Regarding the extra marshmallows and accompaniments Carolina hand-crafted for us:  First, we gifted Grandma with some. Later today I’ll feast on hot cocoa with the others. Here I am now though already celebrating Sunday and relishing the mere thought.   

Yesterday I pedaled The Bells, flat roads around our cabin that allow a quick dash home if overcome by sheets of rain or tears. The last time I rode like this—between hailstones, that is—my Dad was with me. He was 92 and on a trike. It was slow-going but still about as interesting as anything I can imagine. Same yesterday as—must it be said aloud?—he was there again.

Since March 2020, my Mister Fix-it has replaced the kitchen faucets at home and at the cabin, fixed a bathroom stopper and a leaking shower, replaced our pressure regulator and leveled a toilet. Not an unusual list in a year’s time given these old buildings. What is extraordinary is that I have noticed how he, methodically and ingeniously, does these tasks. I have watched and asked him questions. Is the miracle that one can do these things or that I am so thoroughly amazed and grateful?