It’s been over a year since I last hugged my parents. I remember the first visit with Mom last March, when it all began. Neither of us knew how long it would be, though I’m almost certain we didn’t think it would be for over a year. I stood in their driveway on a cold March day, picking up a package of toilet paper she had managed to procure when the rest of Albany had been depleted. It was strange to keep a six foot distance then, but I did it for her safety on that day, and every day since. When the two-week post-second-vaccine period had passed, I stopped by for a Sunday visit and hugged both her and Dad. It was a very fine moment.
Without masks and distance, it’s easier for Dad to understand and engage. I think the past year has been the hardest on him for that reason. At 90 years old, the best defense is engagement and activity – COVID almost took that away from us, but we worked around it, and in some ways I was able to be more present with the circumstances.
It was a week of returning to some form of normal on other fronts as well – a welcome return – and I embrace it hesitantly, hopefully…
New friends silver, old friends gold.
My Filipino heritage – in honor of Asian American – Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Dazzlers of the Day included Regina King, Chloé Zhao, Kyle Griffin, Jen Psaki, Colman Domingo, and Annie Lennox.
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