Good gawd this drawn-out, long-ass, ridiculous-or-necessary lockdown is doing in our minds. At some point the return to whatever the next Normal will be us going to be a bit unwieldy, and I foresee people having reunions with old and new acquaintances ranging from “big dog happy pouncing” to “half-circling with a hand hovering over our phones in case this isn’t working.” Both are valid. And Washington state is now traipsing towards a re-opening, so getting back to “normal” is going to look like when Martin Luther King, Jr. hoped people be judged “on the content of their character”; not everyone is ready for that.

Coming out of the Winter/Holiday/Christmas break was much needed. On the horizon is “mid-Winter Break” which was also the unreleased Sting album that was to coincide with a Seth Rogen rom-com which Zoe Saldana dropped out of. MWB is the break between the Holidays and Spring Break to keep parents guessing as to what else they’re supposed to do to occupy their family’s time 6 weeks after 2 weeks of at least being able to look forward to Christmas. Not this time.

And hey… which Maker of Rules decided that families have to “go somewhere” every time a dead hero’s birthday rolls up? It reminds me of the time an exasperated friend of mine told her tale of woe on Martin Luther King, Jr. day about being unable to find a theater that was playing… “Selma“?
No…
“Paddington.” Bummer, Tina.

So now things change up a bit. I have a new schedule each day, and it’s quickly showing me how important my time with my kids has been. As I get back to work here soon I am condensing everything I feel is a loose end and managing the fact that I’m not going to be as available as I have been for the last 7 months. After all this time off, I need a break.