Welcome to the (COVID-19) World, Great Granddaughter

Dearest Joanie, (Joan Francis, that is)

    Today is July 30, 2020, and you have already celebrated your two-month old birthday.  But here you are...a newborn. Your picture took my breath away.

Joanie, a few hours old

Great Grandmother Katie, 80th Birthday, with Dougie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    When you were born on May 23, 2020, the world, and especially the United States, was at a standstill. By the time of your birth, those of us who cared enough, those of us who believed what doctors and scientists were telling us about the COVID-19 virus had been sheltering in place since mid-March 2020. No doubt, you will be reading about the outbreak, the politicizing of it in the U.S., which only added to our woes, the faltering economy, the permanent closing of shops and stores. I'm not sure how history will treat the arrogant and incompetent president of the U.S., but I hope he is not kindly dealt with. He has spread hatred and division, dismantled many programs designed to help people, taken far too many golf vacations, and he has enriched himself and his family at the expense of the people. He is a grifter and a huckster, and he is responsible for our ongoing epidemic while other countries are leveling out and reopening.

    And that's the reason for my letters to you. I have no idea when I will be able to see you in person. 
I live in Colorado and you live in New York, and I cannot fly to see you, and, even if I could, I would have to quarantine for 14 days somewhere or another.

    I am Katie, your great grandmother, and I'm 80 years older than you.  Catherine, your grandmother, is my daughter; Brett, your mother, is my granddaughter.  Amy, my mother, is your great great grandmother, and Amy's mother, Fannie Belle, is your great great great grandmother. But I am the oldest living relative of yours on this side of the family.

    We are 80 years apart, and yet the eras into which you and I were born, while light years away in terms of science, medicine, and information technology, have some chilling similarities.  I was born in October 1939. In September of 1939, Hitler (I have no doubt you will know whom I'm talking about) had invaded Poland, and set the stage for World War II. It was a dark time, and later, when I put the occasion of my birth together with what was happening on the world scene, I wondered what my parents felt, bringing this tiny being into such a world.  Your parents, no doubt, are probably wondering the same thing, as they see you peacefully sleeping your days and nights, learning to smile, feeling absolutely safe and loved by everyone who surrounds you.

    So today, I begin this series of letters to you. I'm not certain how much time I have left in this earthly existence. I'm not ill, but I am 80.  Will we get to meet in person?

    On this day, we watched the funeral of John Lewis, the great civil rights activist, and listened to former President Barak Obama deliver the eulogy.  I want you to know who these people were, as we're in an era of Black Lives Matter, and I'm not at all certain how your history books will portray that.

    But I want you also to know that in the restlessness and chaos and uncertainty in this world, you, just because you came into this place, are offering hope and sunshine and blessing.

                    Love,

                    Your Great Grandmother Katie (you may call me Katie)