COVID at Thanksgiving Moving into Christmas

Dear Joanie,

    It is now two days after Thanksgiving, a cold morning in Colorado. The snow that fell as few days ago has turned into a hardened crust of ice, difficult to walk on, but beautiful in these short winter days, when the sun goes behind our mountain at about 3:30pm. I have turned on the Christmas lights on the picket fence, but note that I have a couple of strings out. I put the wreath on our front door. The little star with lights will probably hang from my studio window. I'll probably find a tiny tree for our tiny house.  But most of all, I love the lights at Christmas time, and I'll bet you do, too.

    Ah, yes. Thanksgiving during COVID. We are in a third and very dangerous wave of COVID infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. You will want to research the New York Times to looks at surges in all these areas.  There still is no national plan and so states continue to work in a haphazard way in terms of regulations. Colorado is one of those states seeing a big uptick, so we are asked to stay at home as much as we can. Gatherings of more than 10 people are not allowed. We were able to attend the funeral for Dougie's brother Denny in Arvada. I miss my sister Patsy as we move into holidays that she loved so much.

    Here is the latest from the New York Times for the United States:

Cases: 13.1 million199,104 +17%
Deaths:  264,724 1,388    +36%
Hospitalized: 89,834    +40%

    At Thanksgiving, we were asked to "celebrate" with our household only. So your Great Grandfather Dougie and I had turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes (I forgot the marshmallows!!) and salad with pumpkin pie for dessert. I put a cut lace tablecloth on the table and lit candles. We were really okay with that, but I realized one thing: cooking for two takes as much time and trouble as cooking for ten! I was tired by the end of the day, having done my dance class, taken Shelby Poodle for a walk, and prepared a traditional meal. Your great uncle André did a drive-by and we talked briefly outside.

    As recounts and certifications of the election continue, Joe Biden now has more than 80 million votes, a record number.  The current president has pretty much abdicated any responsibility. He and his legal team, which behaves like a circus act, have had case after case thrown out of the courts. They all claim that the election was rigged, that dead people voted, that Democrats dumped fake ballots off at voting places, that Republican votes were not counted, blah, blah, blah.  No evidence whatsoever. Trump will not concede the election, but the transfer of power has begun, with roadblocks here and there. Biden ignores the whole circus and moves forward. It feels like inauguration day is a long way off. 

    And look at you! You are embracing the world with smiles and wonder. My favorite picture of you posted recently is your looking up at your daddy with smiles and adoring eyes as you both sit on the couch, Lucile looking on.  We are thankful for these pictures. We are thankful for you.

    With love,

Your G. Coco and Dougie NYC 2019

 

    GGM Katie

 

You are Turning Over and So Is the Presidency!

November 9, 2020

Dear Joanie,

It's been a while, but leading up to the election got more and more stressful. The days dragged on and on, but finally November 3 was here. Your great grandfather Doug and I had already voted about a month ago, but finally, we hoped that things would come to a head, and we would find out who our new president was. I should put that another way.  We hoped that for an end to the nightmare that the presidency has been under Donald Trump--a crude, racist, self-centered bully who has dismantled some of our best efforts at climate control, land use, immigration, international relationships--you name it. He has been vile, especially to women, calling them ugly, dog-faced, monstrous. Well, I could go on, but I won't because...

...in fact, we do have a new president, Joe Biden, and he brings a message of unity and hope, a belief that scientists can best help us get COVID-19 under control. It won't be easy for him. He won by four million votes, but Trump got seventy million himself, and that's rather daunting--seventy million people wanted to continue the chaos that he creates around himself and the country. It won't be easy for him, but, to tell the truth, there was dancing in the streets, literally.

COVID-19 has surged once again in this country and throughout the world. We in Colorado are at a Safer at Home stage. I go out for groceries, and I take Shelby Poodle to day care twice a week. I hike with neighbors occasionally up here in the mountains.  As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, we are pretty much resigned to being here on our own. I continue taking classes over Zoom, most frequently by dance classes. We also still "attend" church over Zoom, and your great grandfather has two book clubs that he goes to.  We wear face masks any time we go out, and they are required when we shop. I"m building up a wardrobe.

You and I still have not met one another in person. 

But I have seen you turn over from your back to your tummy. It was really hard work for you, but you kept at it, not being sure exactly what you were doing and why, but you pushed and fell backward, pushed again and again, and then you made it! On your tummy with a look of "Now what?" on your face. We are so grateful to your mom and dad for posting pictures and videos frequently.  Your whole face beams when you smile, and when I bring up your pictures on the big screen, we are all smiles, too. 

Today is a snowy day in Colorado, and I have a fire going in our woodstove. All is quiet up here in the mountains, and we hope the bears have now gone to sleep for the winter. The deer and foxes are burrowing in, and the chipmunks are digging in even further.  

I'll keep you updated on how this transition to a new president goes. Inauguration is not until January 24. At this point, Trump has not conceded the election. We'll see.

Keep turning over to see new horizons.

Love,

Dance Class on my 80th Birthday    

GG Katie