Skipping into the New Year like...

 

There's a meme going around that says don't go claiming 2022 as "your year." Instead, it says, "we're all going to walk in real slow. Be good. Be quiet. Be cautious and respectful. Don't touch anything." I get it, but the way I see it, we can't afford such reticence. There's too much at stake. We need to get out there and raise hell about the decline of our democracy, it's happening before our eyes. But while we're at it, I do believe that we also need to notice or create moments of connection and joy.

Our girl and her guy came to the city to spend New Years with the man and me. My husband rustled up many little plates of party food, including pigs in a blanket (he knows they evoke fond memories of childhood New Years Eve festivities at my uncle's house), phyllo-wrapped brie bites, two kinds of charred chicken wings, Philly cheese steak sliders, salsa, guacamole, and chips, and individual key lime pies. My girl added a tray of cupcakes and near midnight we popped open the bubbly and raised a glass to the sweetness of being able to spend New Years Eve together after such a year. When the ball dropped in Times Square, we called our son, who was at his apartment in Astoria alone, on day five of his ten-day quarantine while his love waits him out at her parents' house in New Jersey. This is the year they plan to marry. He tested positive on the PCR test he took a couple of days after getting the telltale red line on a home test a week ago. He's feeling okay again. His symptoms were light: a couple of days of body aches, a bad headache the day after, and now just a lingering cough, though we all drove by to exchange gifts and put eyes on him on New Years Day, and he didn't cough once. 

After a slow start to the first day of 2022, it was dark and raining by the time we got to his house, but we stayed outdoors, the five of us masked on the sidewalk in front of his building, chatting and catching up. He was so happy to see people he kept prolonging the visit, though he wouldn't allow any of us to hug him. "Munch is the only one who gets a hug," he announced, picking up the pup and twirling around with him. I wondered about the wisdom of a boy who had been sick standing out in the rain, but he brushed away my concerns, sharing that that he goes walking for an hour every day, rain or shine.

The whole time my girl and her guy were here, they kept getting texts from upstate about yet another family member who had just tested positive, eventually five of them, all of whom they had been with on Christmas Day. Our girl was anxious that they might have brought Covid to us, but her dad told her to relax, that he'd rather get Covid from one of his children than from anyone else, and if there was a variant to get, the relatively mild omicron might be the one. 

Honestly, we suspected that every one of us just might be positive, given how many people we know who have contracted Covid over the season, but since none of us were exhibiting any symptoms, we released worry and just cherished being together. Our girl and her love left early yesterday morning to head back to Boston, where they can get tested easily on campus, and don't have to stand in line for hours as we do in New York City. They dropped off their test samples yesterday afternoon and will let us know the results. We all continue to feel fine. I pray all of you, and your loved ones, will remain safe and healthy in 2022.

Update: Our beloveds in Boston just got back their results—both tested negative.