It’s been a whole year since our first lockdown here in Sonoma County, when life as we knew it was turned upside down and we, as every single person on planet earth truly learned what it means to lean in locally. Probably it was a good thing that none of us knew how long we'd be in that initial limbo in so far as batting down the hatches and answering the door in hazmat suits.
Thinking back, who knew that our nervously washing and quarantining the groceries at the start of the pandemic would extend to days and weeks and months of shuttered businesses, not being able to travel to see loved ones, let alone leaving town for leisure, missing friends, learning new technology to stay connected, touching base with neighbors, discovering every local hill and trail and adapting our minds and our hearts to being more grounded and patient than most of us have ever dreamed we'd be?
Since then there’s been canceled birthday and holiday gatherings, virtual graduations, postponed or micro-weddings and far too much grief and loss on a worldwide scale, but there have also been unimagined moments of joy, revelation, triumph and reconnection, big and small. For every batch of homemade bread, cookies shared, books read, relationships strengthened, we've learned what matters most in our lives.
And ultimately, it's those around us who have inspired us with their courage, creativity, strength, sharing and singular community mindedness that keep us on track to climb on up the sometimes seemingly never-ending hill toward some kind of normalcy.
Especially, let's thank all of the essential workers out there who showed up and still show up, putting their lives on the line day in and day out. What a humbling year it has been.
Sonoma County has been slower than other Bay Area counties in rolling out the vaccine availability and it's been driving people nuts, I know. But when we take time to read how there is so much greater accessibility here in the States to so many countries in the world, we need to dig back into the patience lessons we've been learning and be thankful that anyone who wants it is at least in line — or very soon.
May we be smart and not too overly-eager to rush back to our old ways, listen to the science and cruise into summer without any more casualties in our region. Oh yes, and continue to be kind to one another. That's key.
On a personal note, I've not been posting on Southern Sonoma Country Life all that often. It's been surprisingly busy in my little corner of the world. Two of my three sons moved back home last year and will be here until the restrictions lift and it's been absolutely wonderful to have a houseful again. The work-from-home set-up has been successful for everyone and I've enjoyed throwing myself back into full-on culinary mode after a few years of semi-empty-nesting. We've gone all-Italian in the three meals a day at the table together deal and that's not something that is easy to give up as we enjoy each other's cooking & banter so very much. Still, it's great to be venturing out into the world around us and pulling up a chair in the outdoor seating areas of several of our favorite Sonoma County eateries again.
There's a kitten in the house who is keeping me on my toes. I've been working hard on my new novel and I'm happy to say it's taking great shape. It's so good to be seeing friends and neighbors out and about in town. I'm looking forward to posting a little more of our local goings on and catching up with more of you as the summer months roll in.
Wishing you all safe and happy Spring.
