The Late Arrival

  After fourteen months of working from home, I’m convinced that the biggest perk is the view.   My “office” is situated on a hill, so I can see everything and everyone,  but they can’t see me see them . Remember Gladys Kravits, the nosy neighbor on Bewitched who made it her business to surveil everything that everyone was doing from her front window? Thanks to COVID and working from home, I am Gladys Kravitz now. As the Neighborhood Gladys, I’ve seen things. Things I would’ve missed on my way hurrying out the door in a game of beat the clock. Things I would’ve missed at the office. Like, The Squirrel Community. Yeah, they’re all adorable, but the let me tell you: the Squirrel Community is rife with inequity and bullying. Ever hear a squirrel growl? I have. It happened during that little chase game you might’ve seen and liltingly laughed at.   But it’s no game, it is WAR. Bully Squirrel (that’s what I call him) chases and growls at little guys daily. He ...

Nearly one year into COVID quarantine, and we’re still in darkness. I still believe hoping in darkness : that unseen good things thrive, grow and bloom in the darkest of places.   Today felt like another dark day in a long stretch of dark days, so I decided to intentionally eat my feelings on days like these as I have done for roughly ten of the eleven months of lockdown.   Pioneer Woman’s BestEver Lasagna fit the bill for the day’s emotional eating. I set out meats for defrosting as my daughter and husband set out for shopping at the local hardware store and Target.   They got back home as the meat sauce simmered; and after settling in with her newfound Target treasures, my daughter offered to pitch in with lasagna assembly.   This, in of itself, is any parent’s reason to rejoice, but when you are the parent of an artistic kid with specific and precise aesthetic expectations, an offer to help with lasagna assembly is less help and more annoyance.   B...