2021: a pandemic odyssey

The truth is, I’ve been planning to write this blog post for months now, but it never seemed like I had enough to say. Today, I dumped all of the photos off my phone and was shocked to see how much has happened over the last nine months. Well, it’s not really a lot, but it feels like it given the banality of life in a pandemic. So let’s dive in, shall we.

The year started out auspiciously with a beautiful snow storm in mid-January after a very dry December.

Now most of us know what happened next. I got a call from Kirby on the morning of January 16th from the ski hill saying he fell skiing and that he was going to drive himself to the emergency room in Wakefield. The doctor there confirmed he broke his collarbone and then Kirby proceeded to drive himself home. The next seven days were some of the worst we’ve ever had.

I dropped him off at the Hull hospital on Monday morning for orthopaedic surgery. They then realized he had eaten a small breakfast so they sent him home and told him to come back that evening for surgery. We then proceeded to do this back and forth every day that week, hopeful every morning that surgery would happen that day only to have our hopes dashed by 9pm, at which point Kirby would come home and eat his first meal of the day. By Friday evening Kirby had had enough and finally went to talk with the nurse who apparently took pity on him and called down to the surgery ward. They told him to show up at 7:30am on Saturday morning and to “knock really loudly” on the door to the surgery ward and they would do it then. And much to my dismay, it worked.

Once the plate and screws were in we could finally relax a little and Kirby could focus on healing and getting better. The timing meant he spent his birthday in a brace on the couch, but at least there was cake.

Stanley was very worried, and also a little opportunistic, and spent most of his time keeping Kirby warm.

The next few months were very low-key for us. While Stanley kept Kirby warm and safe, George supervised my work with unnerving scrutiny and criticism. Almost like he blamed me for Kirby’s injury and wanted to keep a very close eye on me.

I still love him though.

And slowly, life got back to normal. More cake was baked.

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I bought a bicycle!

We took a short trip to Magog around Easter to see family and enjoy some maple syrup.

And then there were vaccines! How hopeful that made us feel! For the first time in a long time it felt like the end was in sight (insert snort laugh here).

Stanley decided to take the next shift supervising my work and whereabouts.

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While George took some epic naps.

Then all of a sudden it was my birthday. My FORTIETH birthday. That was a bit of a doozy. To celebrate Kirby and I went zip-lining. Which was absolutely the right choice. There’s nothing like facing the prospect of plunging to your death to give you perspective on something as insignificant as age.

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A few days later we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary! Which also came at an exciting time since Quebec was slowly emerging out of lockdown and we could celebrate at an actual restaurant. And judging from the look on Kirby’s face, we were still a little out of practice with eating in public.

But damn that was a tasty steak. And a beautiful sunset to mark the occasion.

At the end of that month we got the chance to safely visit with our friends Jess and Jeremy (and the small child who lives in the door).

At the end of July we made another quick trip to Magog to celebrate my mom’s birthday. The kids swam, and we feasted, and had a wonderful day capped with ice cream cake. What more could you ask for?

In August Emerson came and stayed with us for a week. I had just started a new job with the government so we weren’t able to do much with her, but she was able to explore a few things on her own. We enjoyed a movie in the theatre together, a fancy meal and most notably, a game of mini-put where Kirby kicked both our butts. But we still had fun.

Well, I guess that’s probably enough for now. We continue to enjoy some of the lifestyle changes brought about by the pandemic. Particularly the working from home part. But I am also aware of how quickly a lot of the changes we had implemented in our lives last March, primarily the reduction in consumption, have come back in full force. A good reminder that some change requires persistence and intention.

Hope everyone out there is keeping well.