Corona Letters #53

I can't speak for other parts of the world, but here in the Northeast, the leaves are starting to fall, the wind is starting to blow and you can feel that the earth is preparing itself to go to sleep for the winter.

Autumn is a beautiful time in New England.  The colors are outstanding and, in my opinion, incomparable.

This year autumn feels a little different, it feels a bit like the walls are closing in, or maybe, like in a movie where the protagonist is sliding under a door that is quickly closing.

We all remember what it felt like to be trapped inside last winter and the chill in the air is an ominous harbinger of another round of quarantine.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I for one, feel this strong, compelling need to be outside in the fresh air for every minute I can be.   This past weekend I was kayaking, hiking, biking and just plain old sitting in the backyard for every day lit hour.  It was wonderful, glorious and also, quite frankly, completely exhausting.

Even yesterday, after a couple days of strenuous outdoor activity I promised myself a day of quiet, maybe reading on the couch.  But, the sun was shining and as I sat on the couch in my cozy flannel pajamas looking out at the glorious day the only thought running through my head was, "Oh Crap.  I need to spend the day outside."   So, outside we went.   We went for a beautiful hike, and we saw many other people  enjoying the crap out of their days too.

There also seems to be a universal desperation to meet friends outside before the dreaded door of winter slams us all inside.   We all get daily pings,

"You wanna meet for coffee?"

"You wanna go for a walk?"

"You wanna go for a Kayak?"

And, even if we are super cozy, sipping on a cup of freshly brewed tea,  the first thought is, "crap.  I'm so content" but then,

"yes."

"sure."

"ok."

It's coming.   As the GOT fans say, and I have yet to understand, "Winter is coming".

At least Winter is a constant.  We know it's coming.  We can prepare.   That can't be said for other things in our life, so it's the one thing we do something about during these strange, strange times.

So, we hike.  We bike. We kayak.   We look at the leaves.    We meet with friends.  

We do this all as we slide under that sliding door like a bad ass spy movie.

Cause once that door is shut, who knows what's gonna happen?